UC Riverside students and employees can look forward to more dining options this fall with a new market, coffee vendor, and Indian and Mediterranean-focused cuisines at two locations among the changes.
Diners will also see new offerings at favorite spots, such as milkshakes at the Scoops Ice Cream shop and Wagyu cheeseburger sliders at the Stable.
With the campus welcoming its largest group of students this fall, Dining Services is anticipating a high-demand season.
New dining concepts, refreshed menus, and expanded mobile ordering are being introduced to meet those needs, said Marcus Van Vleet, executive director of Dining and Hospitality Services.
“I think we’re on an upward trajectory for Dining Services,” he said. “I’m looking for ways to continue to innovate, whether that be new menus, the way we serve, or with technology.”
Three new restaurants debuted this fall, including one at the newly completed North District 2 student housing complex.
The Den
The Den, located at North District 2, is the newest market serving student residents and the surrounding community. Its name is a nod to the respective bear and tiger mascots of UCR and Riverside City College to welcome both UCR and Riverside Community College students living at the new residential complex.
The market features a full-service coffee bar with pastries, avocado toast, and bagel sandwiches. The convenience store includes a wide variety of groceries, snacks, and beverages. A unique feature at the store is a fruit butchery that will open in November, providing fresh-cut fruit and fresh pressed juices. The market will also be used as a small commissary to package fruit cups that can be sold at other Scotty’s convenience stores.
Located under a pedestrian arcade, the market faces out to Canyon Crest Drive and includes a walk-up window where customers will be able to place and pick up orders.
“We’re hoping the Den appeals to the Riverside community, those that live across the street in apartments or nearby as they’re walking by,” Van Vleet said. “This location isn’t just for students, faculty, and staff, but also the Riverside community.”
Customers line up at the Den, a new market in North District 2, on its opening day Monday, September 29, 2025. UCR/Stan Lim)
Savor
Another new restaurant marks the return of Savor at the Market at Glen Mor with a new concept: Indian-inspired dishes such as butter chicken, beef vindaloo, and coconut tofu. Customers can mix proteins, sauces, vegetable toppings, and sides like garlic naan and basmati rice to their liking. The beef and chicken are halal certified.
With the reopening of Savor, all the spaces at the Market at Glen Mor are filled. The location also includes Starbucks, a convenience store, and the NOODS noodle bar, which is open in the evening hours until midnight. With an assortment of noodles and sauces in different Asian styles, NOODS tapped into a significant demand from students for a late-night restaurant on campus after a successful opening last year, Van Vleet said.
A customer orders food at the Savor restaurant at the Market at Glen Mor. (UCR/Imran Ghori)
Scotty’s Grill & Market
Scotty’s Grill & Market is another location that reopened with a new concept. Previously, only a convenience store, the store near the roundabout at Glen Mor apartments, it closed in 2020.
It has returned with a Mediterranean-inspired menu including chicken shawarma, beef kofta, falafel, tofu and a rotating mezze bar with dips, spreads, and sides. Products purchased at Scotty’s Grill & Market are kosher.
Jonas Norin, a senior cook at Scotty’s Grill & Market, cuts chicken shawerma from a vertical skewer. (UCR/Imran Ghori)
Van Vleet said as part of the preparation their chefs met with a kosher vendor and local rabbi to see how they could incorporate kosher items to their menu. They were inspired in particular by a Los Angeles restaurant that served a Mediterranean menu.
The grill and market, which also features packaged kosher groceries, snacks, and beverages, had a soft opening at the end of the spring quarter and held tastings to get student feedback before opening officially last week.
“We wanted to get the flavors honed so that they’re authentic,” said Tonya Tardd, research, development and training chef with Dining Services.
An assortment of menu items at Scotty’s Grill & Market. (UCR/Imran Ghori)
Klatch Coffee
Another big change is the selection of Klatch Coffee as the provider for campus coffee shops. Last fall, Dining Services temporarily switched from Starbucks to Seattle’s Best Coffee while it searched for a new supplier.
The Biz Cafe is among several campus locations serving Klatch Coffee. (UCR/Stan Lim)
As part of that process, Dining Services hosted a presentation in the spring with about a half-dozen coffee vendors who told their company stories and provided employees and students a chance to sample different blends and fill out surveys.
“Klatch was the overwhelming favorite of that tasting,” Van Vleet said.
A bonus is that the Rancho Cucamonga-based company was founded by Mike Perry, a UCR alum eager to work with the campus on new concepts, he said.
Klatch has been operating at the Biz Café at the School of Business building since they opened last fall and became available at Ivan’s Café in the summer. As of this fall, it is also at Bytes, the Den, Emerbee’s, the Barn, and select Scotty’s stores.
New items at favorite spots
Last fall, the Scoops Ice Cream shop opened at the HUB, featuring exclusive UCR-flavors, additional Blue Bunny varieties, freshly made waffle cones, and cookies and cones from the Sweet Tooth Bakery at the Glasgow Residential Restaurant.
Scoops is now offering handcrafted milkshakes with flavors including vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, Oreo, and a specially made selection of fresh-baked cookies. Dining Services is continuing to partner with an area creamery to make flavors using campus citrus and honey that are also sold in individual cups at the Scotty’s stores.
Ice cream with toppings is served at the Scoops Ice Cream shop at the HUB. UCR/Stan Lim)
With the start of the fall quarter, the Barn has its three counters open: a salad bar, carvery, and grill, which has been consolidated to include the sandwich deli station.
Meanwhile, the Stable is adding new dishes including Wagyu cheeseburger sliders, a Green Goddess Cobb salad, and an apple cheesecake parfait. The Stable has also brought in a new partner, After Ours, for its reimagined bar serving signature cocktails, distilled and non-distilled drinks, beer, wine, and mocktails.
At the Market at North District, located in North District 1, Dining Services is expanding its Asian street food theme with new menu items including Banh Mi sandwiches and flatbread pizzas.
Other changes include a new online menu from Citrus Grove Catering intended to streamline event planning for campus organizations.
Dining Services is also expanding mobile ordering through its app, allowing customers to save time and avoid lines. Customers can order ahead at campus coffee shops, The Barn, Halal Shack, Subway, and more to come.
Van Vleet said Dining Services continues to make changes based on what they hear and see from customers. Ideas such as Indian cuisine and Asian street food, for instance, came from a student dining committee, he said.
Visit the Dining Services website for more information on dining venue hours, menus, and locations.
Dining and Cooking