By Melissa Werthmann, News Correspondent
The first floor of the Curry Student Center will soon get a renovation that could mean major changes to seating and eateries frequented by students.
Northeastern officials confirmed a remodel is in the planning stages, with a start date penciled in for as early as next summer.
“It is pretty early in the process and planning is still underway,” Renata Nyul, director of communications wrote in an email to The News.
Nyul said the process is a collaborative effort among the facilities division, the Student Government Association (SGA), Enrollment Management and Student Affairs and Dining Services.
“The goal is to provide the best options and environment for the campus community, and to create a space that is flexible for a variety of uses,” she said. Nyul said the result will be “lots of exciting physical improvements to the dining, seating and vendor areas, plus additional dining options, etc.”
Students said they’re generally happy with the space and the types of vendors on hand, which include Wendy’s, D’Angelos, Pizza Hut and the only Taco Bell in the city of Boston, anchored by On-the-Go and West End Eatery, as well as the Starbucks in afterHOURS.
“I don’t see a reason why they need to change the food selection,” Emmanuel Llado, a middler mechanical engineering major, said “If anything, they could add more seats. It doesn’t really need to be renovated. It’s pretty appealing already.”
Llado said he stops by the Curry food court about once a day when he is taking classes and said his favorite place to eat is Wendy’s.
Other students, like Katie Shaffer, are satisfied with the dining options, but think the seating area could be improved.
“They need to put in a serious amount of [electrical] outlets,” Shaffer, a junior criminal justice major, said “This is ridiculous.”
Brian Whyte said he visits the Curry food court often and would like to see more food options.
“I think it would be kind of cool if we had a Chinese place,” the middler business major said.
He said he would not want to see the West End Eatery go because they take meal swipes. Although he said the seating area could use a more organized layout, Whyte is not convinced that a complete renovation is needed.
“I don’t think there’s a need to remodel it, but if it ends up being good then that’s great,” he said.
The convenience and variety of the different food retailers in the food court is a draw for some students trying to grab a quick bite.
Glendalis Grullon is a first-year nursing graduate student who completed her undergraduate degree at Northeastern and heads to Curry one to two times a week. She said she doesn’t eat at Wendy’s, Pizza Hut or Taco Bell too often but thinks it’s a good idea to keep them since they are “quick and easy.”
Grullon said she is satisfied with the variety of food and has no trouble getting a table no matter what time she goes to Curry. While she would like to see the new plans include a Panera Bread, she admitted that the Huntington Avenue location isn’t too far.
“I wouldn’t hate it if they added a couple of things,” she said. “But if it’s going to increase tuition, then no.”
Timothy LePage, SGA’s vice president for student services, told The News in an email that SGA collected student feedback last year regarding what dining options should be changed and reported that information to administrators.
