After closing for renovations over the summer, 1920 Commons reopened with extended dining hall weekend hours, a new hot chicken bar in Gourmet Grocer, and a range of building updates.
Commons opened for the start of New Student Orientation with improvements and upgrades to the dining hall, Gourmet Grocer, and Starbucks on the ground floor. The renovation work included roof patching, ramp top replacement in the loading dock, new grease traps, new flooring, and replacement of many of the ceiling tiles, light fixtures, and equipment, Penn Business Services Director of Communications and External Relations Barbara Lea-Kruger wrote in an email to The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Other changes included painting the interior walls and hand railings and reorganizing the serving stations to offer more variety and convenience, Lea-Kruger wrote.
Plans for renovations to address building infrastructure concerns were already underway before the Philadelphia Office of Food Protection found the dining hall to be noncompliant with the Philadelphia Health Code after inspections.
In addition to changes in the building and layout of the dining hall, Penn Dining implemented changes to the dining experience after receiving student feedback. For example, Commons is now open for continuous service from brunch to dinner on weekends. The dining hall also now offers a variety of fruits for students to add to their water during the weekend brunch service, a new station that highlights ethnic cuisines from around the world called "Near and Far," and made-to-order smash burgers.
During warmer months, Lea-Kruger wrote that the water stations will offer tea with a variety of spices to choose from. This week, "Near and Far" served a Mediterranean assortment, while the new hot chicken bar in Gourmet Grocer will offer rotisserie chicken and two sides paid for with Dining Dollars, a meal swipe, or cash or credit. A new espresso machine was also introduced to Starbucks in 1920 Commons.
Steven Green, director of residential dining for Bon Appétit, said that students wanted to customize their meals and choose from more food options. Students also reported difficulty in locating food options at the dining cafe and wanted more options on the weekend.
Commons also now groups together the ice cream and desserts — with newly added toppings — as well as grouping together the cereals with milk.
Some students said they noticed the changes at Commons, even if they thought they were minimal.
“I noticed a few random differences," College junior Lauren Shulman said. "They redid the floors, moved the desserts and sauces to the side, and the food was a bit more gourmet."
College sophomore John Gonzalez was also more upbeat about how the food tasted.
“Nothing really stood out to me, but I did notice a slight improvement in the food quality,” he said.
Later in the semester, Penn will incorporate additional changes, such as a new smoothie machine that will be introduced at Gourmet Grocer, Lea-Kruger wrote.
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