College and University foodservice programs span a wide range of operations from primarily offering grab-and-go options to universities that have 15+ dining halls to accommodate large student bodies. Community colleges may only need a smaller operation since students are typically only there for lunch or may want to grab a quick snack throughout the day. Each operation knows what their students need out of dining services. While mainly offering grab-and-go options works well for smaller scale colleges, larger universities need to provide three meals a day to students as well as late night studying refuel snacks, early morning coffees, and snacks in between classes. Each university is unique in how they market their educational programs and campus life.
Having your dining operations work cohesively with your university’s image is very important to ensure students are experiencing campus life in every area they go to on campus. Prestigious and upscale universities are primarily known for their outstanding academic programs and post-grad job placement statistics, but what makes a university a place students truly can call home is the student life. Having dining services that translate a university’s premier reputation helps to round out a student’s entire college experience. This translation of elite service into dining halls opens an opportunity for universities to showcase and differentiate themselves from other schools. So how do premier universities ensure their foodservice is paired with fine dining?
To answer that question, let’s dive into Multiteria’s Meritage Serving Counter line with an upscale design for high-end dining. Ensuring your serving counters, check-out counters, cooking stations, and every other area in the dining hall cohesively fit into the premier university experience is very important. The Meritage line is a first-rate counter line has an endless variety of finishes for high-end dining environments. With Meritage offering completely customizable offerings, each counter project is different. Being able to customize and personalize every aspect of your esteemed dining hall builds the upscale atmosphere.
The Meritage Difference:
Meritage serving counters offer a wide variety of benefits, one being the endless creative design options. You dream it, and we will design it! Paired with these premier designs comes the durable construction of the Meritage line. While the outside of the counters offer an aesthetic look, the structure of these counters are strong and durable to make sure they withstand the test of time as new students come for orientation and classes graduate.
The Meritage construction consists of a 100% stainless steel tubular frame, is fully welded, and has a lifetime warranty on the frame. Design and durability meet at the same level of importance in our construction of this line of serving counters. Within the design of these serving counters, options of elite finishes, modern canopies, sleek food shields, and LED lights ensure the premier dining experience is going to be achieved.
While it is nice to see all of the Meritage benefits and features written out, what is more of a testament to this upscale line are pictures and overviews of previous premier universities we have installed this line at and how it has helped elevate their dining experiences.
Stony Brook University Project:
The university had recently constructed a new building on campus and a cafeteria was added in order to accommodate an increase in the student population. Multiteria was able to turn their dreams into a reality. Stony Brook wanted to be able to serve a wide selection of various menu items each day within the same equipment footprint. Because of their extremely high standards for food quality and freshness, they also wanted to place the same importance and emphasis on food displaying and merchandising to students to facilitate maximum participation and satisfaction.
Stony Brook chose to incorporate convertible food shields that allow the operator to easily convert a service station from self-serve to full-service. This versatility in stations has allowed them to offer various types of meals throughout the day ranging from self-serve breakfast options including yogurt parfait bars to full-service meals offering pasta dinner dishes. Allowing food stations to be tailored for menu variety was a dream Multiteria turned into a reality. Their island counters have long spans with custom food shields to eliminate the need for center posts that distract from the sleek design while also increasing the ability to access food easily. Another element to this project was the incorporation of food wells that could be converted between hot or cold operation individually which is the ultimate in menu flexibility and versatility. To top this all off, Multiteria added LED lighting within various areas of the counters to create the premier dining environment Stony Brook was striving food.
University of Wisconsin - Platteville Project:
This university was in need of help renovating their Markee Pioneer Student Center dining hall and reached out to Multiteria to help design and build the serving counters and check-out stations they were envisioning. UW Platteville had goals to improve utilization of their space while pairing this with a high-end appearance. With the help of our team, they designed a dining space that included various Meritage curved counter sections adding to the premier aesthetic of the dining hall. One of the counters that brought the most excitement to students as they began to use the renovated dining hall was the Mongolian grill station positioned in the center of the serving area shaped as a circle.
This renovation had a great impact on UW Platteville’s dining services as they were able to offer an upscale dining experience for students while incorporating new food serving options. Multiteria’s Meritage Serving counters in this installation helped to craft this new dining experience that has been a hit on campus ever since.
Meritage serving counters help to match or improve high-end and premier dining experiences. The durable quality of these counters paired with the endless design possibilities sets colleges and universities up for a successful foodservice program. We have just tapped into the differences Meritage counters can make. Learn more about this line of counters here!
