Dining Services is planning a series of changes to Chase Dining Hall to improve throughput, flow, and the overall dining experience. These include moving the bakery and ice cream stations to Chase Round and the Create Kitchen to the current bakery location, where four burners would be added to increase capacity. Make-your-own smoothies may also be introduced, with compostable cups and a rotating selection of ingredients, though Dining Services noted all plans remain subject to change. See more tentative details in the sidebar.
The proposed changes were discussed with Dining Advisory Board members approximately three weeks ago and were recently presented to Senate on Tuesday, April 7, by Dining Services leadership and Aramark staff, including Director of Dining Services Chris Rousseau.
Kevin Rice, SGA member-at-large ’27 and a student representative on the Dining Advisory Board, told The Wheaton Wire that while the changes were discussed, students were not involved in their initial development. “They were discussed. We had input, but we were not consulted in the creation of them. We had our input sort of after,” said Rice.
Dining Services described the proposed changes as an incremental improvement to the current layout. Rousseau said during Senate, “Is it the best solution that solves everything? No. But I think it’s a giant step in the right direction.”
“I think they’re positive [changes],” Rice said, adding, “I don’t think they fix what was taken away last year, but I do think they’re primarily positive.”
Other concerns raised by senators included vegetarian and vegan dining options, cross-contamination at certain stations, inconsistent Chase lunch hours, mobile ordering inconsistencies, the use of AI-generated images in dining communications, vending machine variety and preparation issues.
Rousseau emphasized a willingness to respond to student concerns and adjust operations based on feedback, noting that “feedback is always considered” and that Dining Services reviews trends and adjusts accordingly.
He noted that decisions about vending machine offerings are informed by “sales data, suggestions, and feedback” and that the Dining Services team aims to “keep variety and test new items.” When students raised concerns about inconsistencies in mobile ordering, Rousseau reassured, “That may be a mistake … I’ll look into that.”
“The administration is willing to work with us on small things, but bigger things—we spent the first, kind of whole, semester complaining about the changes they made [at the beginning of the academic year], and they really didn’t change anything…they seemed unwilling to budge. But other than that, it’s been useful to enact small changes,” Rice said.
Rousseau said students can “use a QR code” available at dining locations or email him directly to report issues.