Atrium Café expands border

Dining Services has expanded the Atrium Café in an effort to boost sales and offer more variety to students.

The Atrium was renovated over winter break and has been in operation since January. Bill Canney, director of Dining Services, has been planning the expansion for the past year.

"We were looking at the space and thought we could do more with it," Canney said.

Capital Planning approved the expansion for the 2009-2010 school year but the project was delayed until the 2010 spring semester.

"Other campus projects took priority," Canney said.

The construction of a curved wall, the addition of a display case and extra card-swipe station better confine the new space as a separate section of Dining Services without compromising the Dining Hall's architectural design.

The new structures have made entering the Dining Hall for free more difficult. "There have been significantly less people making unauthorized entry into the D-Hall," he said.

More shelf space and refrigerated cases stock an array of new products. Students have expressed interest in purchasing organic food products and snacks via e-mails, one-on-one meetings and napkin requests posted in the Dining Hall entrance.

"Students wanted more healthy lifestyle cereals, like Kashi, and products like veggie burgers and Amy's entrées," said Sharon Foley, supervisor of Retail Operations.

The Atrium also offers prepared meals that Canney hopes will allure upperclassmen who typically do not have full meal plans.

"We sent out postcards to all students living in Northwoods Apartments and Scribner Village, advertising the new home meal replacement options," he said.

Students can select from a variety of ready-to-eat products, including frozen dinners and meals cooked by Dining Hall chefs.

Frozen dinners range from $3.99, for Lean Cuisine entrées, to $5.99 for Amy's entrées. The average price of a home meal replacement is $3.99. Additional side dishes are also available, ranging from $1.25 to $2.50.

The home meal replacements are convenient for students who enjoy eating at home but do not have time to cook. They offer an alternative to ordering delivery.

Local food companies, such as Saratoga Peanut Butter, Saratoga Salsa and Spice and Saratoga Sweets, offer their products in the Atrium. These items can be found on the Pride of New York shelf.

The Atrium also supports student business, including products from KD Energy, a company formed in 2009 by Katie Dalton '10, Evan Godfrey '09, Grace Kitchings '09 and Ellen McQuade '10 for an assignment in their Entrepreneurship and Small Business course.

The company produces KD Energy Bites, an energy bar in bite-size pieces. The snacks are one of several all-natural, gluten-free and vegan products available in the Atrium.

Some local retail locations already carry the snacks. Dalton is excited that the snacks are available in the Atrium.

"We have felt like we've been completely missing out on the most direct way to reach a huge part of a market that we feel particularly passionate about reaching," she said.

On Feb. 17 students can sample the KD Energy Bites in the Atrium. Samplings of different products occur from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. every Wednesday in the Atrium.

"All the samplings are either new products or products we are thinking of bringing into the Atrium," Foley said.

Student feedback on the new Atrium is generally positive. Hanna Tonegawa '11 is impressed with the new layout and vast selection.

"It has somewhat of a convenience store-esque feel, and it feels overall more open and inviting than the old Atrium," she said.

"It looks like there's more stuff, so I would probably shop there more this semester than before," Carly Stokes '13 said.

Meghan Garvey '11 is also pleased with the revamped Atrium. "I am really happy about the practical things the Atrium offers, such as Airborne and Cold-EEZE," she said.

Garvey acknowledged that CVS and Target sell cheaper goods.

"You are paying for the convenience," she said.

Vinay Trivedi-Parmar '12 believes the Atrium has improved and will generate more business. However, he is bothered by the organization of some items.

"I don't like how the windshield wiping fluid and snow brushes are in the main section by the food; I'd prefer if they were more toward the back," he said.

Despite minor complaints, students are generally pleased with the changes.

"They [Dining Services] are really thinking along the lines of student needs," Tonegawa said.

The Atrium Café and Convenience Store are open from 7 a.m. - 11 p.m. Sunday - Thursday and 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.