Mexican station, upgrades planned for Fireside
Students enjoy a meal in Fireside Cafe, which could soon be renovated to include a mexican station, breakfast all day and more space. Photo by Makenzie McMullen.
Fireside Café is one of the premiere spots on Castleton’s campus for students to hangout. Residents indulge in food, drink and each other’s company and the cozy spot is host to many campus activities and is also enjoyed by faculty and staff.
And it might soon get better.
Sodexo officials are looking to upgrade it to a more modern-day hangout spot for students and are currently negotiating with the university for renovations.
Rob Macfarlane, who manages Sodexo at Castleton, is the spearhead for the proposed project.
“The plan is to have different stations which answer all the needs. A Mexican station, a breakfast all day, a late-night pub food, and lastly, a dessert station where you can have a Mcflurry type of deal. This is all preliminary,” said Macfarlane, adding that he’s hopeful it can get off the ground.
“Fireside is an incredibly small space. It’s essentially a glorified concession stand. It doesn’t deliver the value that it should to the dining guest,” Macfarlane said.
Not only will new food options be implemented, but there will also be a much more space-efficient setting, MacFarlane said.
“We would like to open the place up by removing the wall that separates the tables and café itself,” Macfarlane said.
All this Fireside renovation talk around campus has students excited for what might be coming to fill their hungry stomachs.
“Fireside is very popular with students, and having more options rather than one menu is fantastic. The Mexican food sounds great!” said student Kerrigan Davis with a smile.
“I think it will be a sufficient way to get people in and out and less crowded,” said freshmen Sean Novak.
Rebecca Santamore is hopeful the idea can become a reality on campus.
“If this happens, the first day it’s open, I’m looking to get in and out efficiently and to try out the Mexican portion,” said a beaming Santamore.
Macfarlane believes it will be a challenge, but thinks it can have a true impact.
“We are trying to get something together that will become the best it can be, and this is the launching point,” Macfarlane said.
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