Soldiers select their taco toppings out of gleaming, blue Le Creuset cookware at 42 Bistro, the Army’s first privately run dining facility, at Fort Hood, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2026. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
FORT HOOD, Texas — Excitement and a little confusion filled the main atrium of Fort Hood’s new privately run dining facility Thursday as soldiers got their first look — and taste — at the future of Army dining.
With four stations lining the walls and a self-serve, pay-by-the-weight salad bar down the center, diners can choose from burgers and grilled chicken sandwiches, deli sandwiches and wraps, pizza and pasta, or smoothies and blended bowls. A rotating station featured chicken or beef tacos with rice and beans out of gleaming, blue Le Creuset cookware.
About a dozen employees from Fort Hood’s 42 Bistro and its parent company Compass Group greeted soldiers with wide smiles as they described the somewhat tricky ordering process: Order on one of five computer touchscreens and keep the receipt it spits out. Whichever station the person ordered from will call out the corresponding number on the receipt when the food is ready. This is scanned by the cashier where barracks soldiers are asked how they want to use their meal entitlements. Everyone else can pay with cash, credit card or tap-to-pay technology.
Pfc. Mitchell Wilcox weighs his salad while paying at 42 Bistro, the Army’s first privately run dining facility, at Fort Hood, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2026. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
“The food quality is higher,” said Spc. Mitchell Wilcox, who was eating at 42 Bistro for the second day in a row. “They’ve got things I didn’t even know about. You can get tofu on the salad bar.”
His tray held a salad piled high with toppings — such as eggs, sliced peppers and cucumbers — a grilled chicken sandwich with bacon and cheese, and a protein smoothie. It cost $23, which is higher than the $15.86 available through the meal entitlement he’s afforded for living in the barracks. But he was able to put some of his breakfast and dinner money toward the larger lunch meal. Each day, barracks soldiers’ meal entitlements allow them to access up to $39 in food broken down over three meals.
Pfc. Allen Nguyen and Spc. James Reeves use an ordering kiosk at 42 Bistro, the Army’s first privately run dining facility, at Fort Hood, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2026. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
After a soldier pays, a receipt shows how much of the entitlement, referred to as “freedom dollars,” was spent and how much remains. This can also be spent in a traditional dining facility so long as they have not already dipped into funds allocated for that meal.
“It’s way better than the other [dining facility],” Wilcox said.
With the official opening of 42 Bistro slated for next week, Compass Group has begun a soft opening to iron out the wrinkles of its first dining facility on an Army installation. Its other contracts include feeding people in airport lounges, university athletic departments, schools and health care facilities.
After the grand opening Wednesday, diners will be able to order ahead at the restaurant’s website, 42bistro.com.
The Army only provided the building for Compass and will pay the company only for reimbursement of meal card entitlements redeemed at 42 Bistro, its food truck and coffee shop, according to the contract.
Pfc. Zane Sanford makes a salad at 42 Bistro, the Army’s first privately run dining facility, at Fort Hood, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2026. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
Roughly 6,000 soldiers have meal entitlements at Fort Hood, according to the base. So while the facility is geared toward barracks soldiers, it also aims to draw in others on post, including families looking for a more affordable dining-out option.
“I think by providing great food, great hospitality and great service, then you create a destination where you gather, belong and dine all across the garrison,” said Donna Turner, vice president of government engagement and sales for Compass Group.
Soon Compass Group will open a facility at Fort Carson, Colo.; then at Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Stewart, Ga.; and Fort Drum, N.Y. The Army plans to seek contracts in the future at other posts and perhaps expand operations at the original five locations.
A worker fills tacos at 42 Bistro, the Army’s first privately run dining facility, at Fort Hood, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2026. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
At each base, the senior commander can grant permission for Compass to sell beer and wine in the dining facilities and place parameters on when. So far, Lt. Gen. Kevin Admiral, commander of III Corps and Fort Hood, has not made that decision, the base said.
Though 42 Bistro did replace one traditional dining facility at Fort Hood, Army cooks are still offering everything previously available at other locations — order-ahead meal prep, a food truck and grab-and-go kiosks with hot and cold meal options, said Sgt. Maj. Kresassidy McKinney, III Corps chief culinary manager at the central Texas Army base.
In recent years, the Army has cut the number of cooks it enlists, stretching the resources of culinary units to feed soldiers in garrison and meet warfighting requirements. With one less dining facility to manage, she said the cooks assigned to Fort Hood can now focus more on their tactical training.
A tray with a grilled chicken sandwich, a salad and a smoothie from 42 Bistro, the Army’s first privately run dining facility, at Fort Hood, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2026. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
A worker places a burger on a soldier’s tray at 42 Bistro, the Army’s first privately run dining facility, at Fort Hood, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2026. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
Soldiers leave 42 Bistro, the Army’s first privately run dining facility, at Fort Hood, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2026. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
“Being that we do operate off of several different rotational rations, this allows them to now tap into more of the [field rations] that requires that tactical equipment,” McKinney said.
Though she and her culinary team are not directly involved in 42 Bistro, McKinney said she will still see the feedback provided through the Army’s standard complaint channels as well as feedback made directly to Compass.
So far the company has hired about 60 employees for 42 Bistro and is continuing to recruit, Turner said. Starting pay for food service workers was advertised in Compass Group job listings at $17.75 an hour.
Compass Group has had issues in the past with some of its contacts regarding hidden credit card fees on vending machines and overcharging public school lunches. Turner said there are accounting checks in place with the Army Morale, Welfare and Recreation contract office to mitigate those issues at its Army facilities.
Sonia Gonzalez makes a cappuccino at Tradecraft, a specialty coffee shop that is part of 42 Bistro, the Army’s first privately run dining facility, at Fort Hood, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2026. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
Dining and Cooking