Plans for a new food venue in Discovery 1 are now complete, with an expected opening this summer, pending final budget and permit approvals.
Ancillary Services at SFU will also unveil a Jugo Juice in the next week, which will be located in the Academic Quadrangle right next to the Renaissance Coffee.
Located in the Fraser International College (FIC) building, the Discovery 1 dining hall will be renovated to enhance the dining experience for students attending the college.
According to Mark McLaughlin, executive director of Ancillary Services, the existing services aren’t enough to support the growing FIC student population. “Right now we have a little food cart down there that really just kind of a stopgap measure for those students,” he said.
The new design will offer international cuisine and coffee, among other items, and will likely run five days a week. “I guess you could call it a mini Mackenzie Cafe,” said McLaughlin.
In previous years, students attending FIC would have to travel up the hill to get food from either venues at Cornerstone or Mackenzie Cafe, braving sometimes frigid weather conditions. According to Ancillary Services, the new dining facility is meant to remedy that.
“I guess you could call it a mini Mackenzie Cafe.”
Mark McLaughlin,
executive director of
SFU Ancillary Services
For McLaughlin, it’s important to not just focus on what SFU students on campus need, but what is necessary for the community as a whole — FIC, UniverCity, Cornerstone — to thrive and grow. “When we look at the campus, we just don’t look at [SFU],” he explained. “For us the campus is the entire mountain, because the campus does not stop at Strand Hall.”
The SFU Board of Governors also announced in November that planning is underway for the possible construction of a new dining hall at UniverCity, to open in 2017.
He continued, “UniverCity is part of our community, and so we look at what opportunities and what services we could offer students over there. You know, we really do try to think long-term, and [. . .] about sustainability and future generations.”
Though space on the mountain is limited, McLaughlin explained that Ancillary Services is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to enhance the dining experience here at SFU. As part of their mission, McLaughlin said that they hope to provide students with a dining experience that includes both big name brands, such as Starbucks and Tim Hortons, and the local, such as Mackenzie Cafe.
In particular, Ancillary Services is looking to support big name brands that adopt sustainable food options for students at competitive prices. “In Ancillary Services, we use what’s called the triple bottom line,” said McLaughlin, “it’s just not about the money, it’s about creating community, about social values as well.”
