A U of L dining favorite is being threatened Tuesday, Jan 11 2022 

#FreeEinsteinBros and Dining and Einstein Bros. Bagels and Jacob Forden and McAlister's and McAlister's Deli and Opinion and U of L Dining Catherine Brown 11:57 pm

By Catherine Brown–

In an Instagram post on Jan. 9, U of L Dining announced that they are considering replacing the campus’ McAlister’s restaurant. This decision has prompted an outlash by students against the organization.

McAlister’s has been a beloved staple of U of L dining for many years. Students love the fast-casual atmosphere of the establishment, where they can indulge in a mixture of healthy and starchy, hot food brought right to their table. 

The outlash is comparable to the Spring 2021 response against U of L Dining for taking away Einstein Bros. Bagels. At the time, student response was so strong that U of L Dining brought back Einstein Bros. for the rest of the semester, albeit only through Grubhub orders.

Students rejoiced, and Einstein Bros. enjoyed a semester of long lines with students anticipating ordering their favorite coffee, bagel with schmear, or pastry.

McAlister’s deserves the same love — from the chain’s famous sweet tea to the hot macaroni-and-cheese that always seems to sell out before the lunch rush. McAlister’s offers plenty of hot, fresh-tasting food that invites students to actually sit down and enjoy their lunch.

Jacob Forden, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, said, “I am very sad about McAlisters because I always ate there and the sweet tea was amazing.”

In response to the backlash, U of L Dining commented, “Hello, McAlister’s is closed. We are evaluating options for this space. In the meantime, our students can go to our Instagram story and answer our poll question about what new dining options they would like to see on campus. There will also be a survey later this semester that will be sent to students.”

Forden said that if McAlister’s were replaced, he would like to see it replaced by Penn Station Subs, Mark’s Feed Store, or a similar fast food restaurant.

Other students suggested replacing McAlister’s with Panera, Cane’s, and, again, Mark’s Feed Store.

If McAlister’s has to go, what restaurant would you like to see in its place?

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SGA announces changes to Campus Dining’s operation hours Saturday, Feb 27 2021 

campus dining and Cardinals and dining hours and Louisville and News and SGA and SGA and Administration and student government association and students and U of L Dining and UofL Madelin Shelton 4:30 pm

By Madelin Shelton — 

In response to survey results about the University of Louisville’s decision to cut back campus dining services, U of L’s Student Government Association has announced adjustments made by the university to the dining hours of operation. The university has expanded dining hours for several campus locations, including Subway, the Starbucks at SAC East and more.

  • Effective Friday, Feb. 26, Subway will reopen on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • Effective Saturday, Feb. 27, through Saturday, March 27, Starbucks at SAC East will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Effective Monday, March 1, Einstein Bros Bagels will be open Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. for GrubHub orders only, the location will not be taking orders at the counter.
  • Effective Saturday, April 3, Starbucks at Ekstrom will return to its regular Saturday operating hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Campus Dining will also be covering transaction costs associated with ordering Einstein’s on GrubHub. SGA President Sabrina Collins said that there shouldn’t be any reimbursement process or special step that students would need to take.

“My understanding is that this was done to limit the number of staff needed to keep the location open which in turn limits operational costs,” Collins said. “Decisions about closures were made with data regarding foot traffic and things like that, so Dining must have felt it necessary to limit operational costs at Einsteins through this decision while meeting student demands to bring the location back online.”

U of L Dining originally reduced its hours for some dining locations, even closing some entirely, as a result of a 39% reduction in student, faculty, staff and visitors on campus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Students and parents immediately expressed their frustration once the initial change came out. U of L then asked for survey feedback from members of the U of L community to see what adjustments were desired and needed. The above adjustments were made in response to the survey results.

File Graphic // The Louisville Cardinal

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