Leonard dining hall is getting a face lift.
The dining hall’s kitchen, which feeds up to 700 students daily, is being upgraded during the fall term and is expected to be running at full capacity for January.
Leonard will no longer be all-you-can-eat and will operate for daily lunch and dinner. Leonard’s kitchen will be closed as cooking stations and dishwashers are upgraded and replaced. Food served at Leonard will be made in trailers located outside the dining hall, and other foods items will be transported from the Ban Righ Dining Hall.
“For the fall 2023-2024 term, Leonard Dining Hall—including most of the seating area—will remain open for students in residence on meal plans, and will offer a variety of menu stations, featuring a rotation of students favourites,” said Jennifer Pete, director of business development and communications (Housing and Ancillary Services), in a statement to The Journal.
For one dinner meal swipe, students will receive one tray of food, consisting of a choice for a main dish, a side dish, a drink, and a dessert.
To compensate for the renovations, residence meal plans will be increased from 19 to 21 meals per week, and students will receive 50 additional trade-a-meals (TAMs).
Ban Righ dining hall, Lazy Scholar, and Location 21 are extending their hours of operation. Ban Righ and Jean Royce will continue to offer all-you-can-eat meals and provide options for students with dietary needs.
“Ban Righ will now be the main dining hall for residents,” President of the Residence Society (ResSoc) Nathan Beckner-Stetson, MSc ’24, said in an e-mail to The Journal. “More food stations are being added [to Ban Righ] and more seating is being added in some of the spare rooms surrounding the dining hall.”
Beckner-Stetson—in his capacity as the president for the student government representing those living in residence—is in close contact with Housing and Ancillary Services and gave suggestions on how to improve students’ dining experience during the renovations.
“[ResSoc] will be keeping a close eye on Leonard renovations as they occur, and [ResSoc will] collect feedback and address concerns during the various opportunities we have to meet with [Housing and Ancillary Services] on issues related to dining,” Beckner-Stetson said.
While Queen’s plans for Leonard dining hall to re-open in December, plans could change if construction schedules don’t go according to plan, Beckner-Stetson explained. The final phase of renovations is currently underway.
Tags
Dining, leonard hall, Residence, TAMs
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