Click to expand.
Those who favor the tastes of one South Campus dining location are in for a treat.
Marketplace is set to close for a $1 million renovation and food upgrades, Student Life spokesman Dave Isaacs said.
“It will close at Thanksgiving time, and will be closed then for the last two weeks of this semester, but it will open again in time for Spring Semester,” Isaacs said.
The project is funded largely by OSU Dining Services and is set to include a sushi bar, an expanded salad bar, a fresh fruit and yogurt bar and a Coca-Cola machine that allows consumers to pick their own drinks and flavors, Isaacs said.
The changes are a result of student and employee feedback, he said.
“All of the changes are student-driven. They are all things that students have asked for, or have requested, or have shown in their purchases,” Isaacs said. “We work with the students who work at dining locations because they are both peers, and hear feedback from their fellow students.”
But some Marketplace student employees said they felt like they were out of the loop about the renovations.
Andrew Myers, a third-year in pharmaceutical sciences and Marketplace employee, said he didn’t know about the closing or the renovations until The Lantern asked him about them.
“I was shocked,” he said. “I figured there would be something posted inside the store saying, ‘Hey, we will be closed from this time to this time for renovations.’ It was kind of irresponsible for the higher-ups to not tell their employees.”
The worry, Myers said, is over his job security during the break and the renovations.
“Right now, I don’t know if I will have a job during Thanksgiving, or if I’ll be out of a job the entire month of December,” Myers said.
Isaacs said Tuesday he was not sure whether employees had been told about the renovations. On Wednesday, he clarified that students had been told, and forwarded an Aug. 28 email from a Marketplace supervisor to The Lantern. The email had been sent to employees letting them know about the changes.
But that email, with the subject line “Open shifts and Renovations,” didn’t mention Marketplace until roughly halfway through. It went on to say that if employees are dependent on their Marketplace income, they should pick up extra shifts now.
“With 12 weeks before this happens, there should be ample time for you to set aside extra money with each paycheck to accommodate this work stoppage. Additionally, with classes just beginning and homework being at it’s (sic) least intense, your availability for extra work should be at it’s (sic) greatest presently,” the email read.
Myers said he thinks in some ways the project is unnecessary because students love Marketplace just the way it is.
“I feel like it’s foolish for (OSU) to keep updating their best places when they could make other places that are lacking more confidence,” Myers said.
But some students are excited about the changes.
Melanie March, a second-year in marketing who lives on campus and has a meal plan, said the changes are a good move.
“The renovations definitely seem exciting because I have stomach problems, so much of the food I can’t eat,” March said. “Having more fresh options would be awesome.”
She agreed that information about such projects should be more readily available, however.
“I feel like (renovations) happen without my knowledge here or sometimes they just don’t really get the word out about changes, so many of us don’t hear about it,” March said.
Those changes, however, are for the better, Isaacs said.
“It’s time to update, refresh and renew the area and we are really excited about what (Marketplace) will be when it reopens,” he said.
