By Anna Marden, News Staff

Jamba Juice and Peet’s Coffee before class. Eating frozen yogurt while doing homework at Red Mango. Chowing down at a dining hall outside the freshman quad or checking out the new addition at the Museum of Fine Arts.
These are just some of the new options Northeastern students will have next semester ‘- a crop of new restaurants within the university’s parameters and a host of new proximal shops will give a new face to the neighborhood.
In the fall, International Village will house Peet’s and Jamba Juice, and a 450-seat dining hall, said Renata Nyul, director of public relations for Northeastern.
Joe Caravaglia, a middler music industry major, said he’s looking forward to the opening of the two beverage chains. He said he thinks these places serve better-quality products than other on-campus options.
‘It’s good that it’s less corporate, more trustworthy businesses affiliated with the university,’ he said.
Some new shops are opening outside of the university as well. Just in time for the fall semester, 22-year-old Tarang Gosalia, a recent graduate of Babson College, will open a Red Mango frozen yogurt franchise at 334 Massachusetts Ave.
Gosalia said Red Mango is different from other similar businesses because it will provide a modern environment catering specifically to students ‘- hip music and decor, free wi-fi, an LCD menu for computerized ordering and ‘an affordable price point.’
‘Boston doesn’t have a lot of options providing health-conscious, good-for-you dessert,’ Gosalia said.
He said he plans to open three or four more Red Mango shops in Massachusetts in the next few years. Boston’s first Red Mango will open in the space previously occupied by the self-proclaimed gourmet hot dog outpost, Bad Dawgz, near Wheeler’s Frozen Dessert, another healthy dessert shop that specializes in vegan ice cream.
‘I was really excited when I found out about Red Mango because there are no good places to get frozen yogurt,’ said Ann Marie Polaneczky, a junior civil engineering major.
Polaneczky is one of more than 1,000 members of the Red Mango Boston Facebook group Gosalia is using to reach out to students.
A few blocks away from Red Mango’s future location, Massachusetts Avenue has welcomed other recent changes. The Church Park building between St. Stephen and Haviland streets underwent renovations, including the addition of J’s Tomodachi Sushi and renovations of Boston Rose flower shop, now called Fern.
Alex Dusterfeld, manager of Fern, said Church Park’s architect planned the changes with shop owner Bruce Sabokrooh. She said a building official wanted one of the retail shops to show off the year-long renovations they’ve made to serve as a ‘showpiece.’
Fern’s interior was redesigned for a more modern look with a natural feel ‘- including the sounds of trickling water fountains, chirping birds and tranquil music.
‘We wanted to bring elements of the outside in,’ Dusterfeld said. ‘There are star [lights] on the ceiling. It feels like you’re in a garden.’
The renovation process was long and included many transitional phases, she said.
History professor William Fowler said he has been in this neighborhood since 1962 ‘- when he was a freshman at Northeastern. He said the current changes are a part of a long series of changes for the better.
‘It ain’t the same. When I got here, it was a rough neighborhood with a decrepit opera house and substandard housing,’ he said, listing a number of long-gone seedy bars, restaurants and theaters. ‘It was down and dirty.’
He said other important improvements he has seen were the addition of the Christian Science plaza in the 1960s and the renovation and recent addition to the Museum of Fine Arts.
Fowler credits the university for inspiring the community to make changes for the better.
‘The neighborhood has kept up with improvements Northeastern has made,’ he said.
Now, Fowler said people underappreciate the vast improvements on campus, noting that in the last 47 years safety and physical appeal have greatly increased.
Fowler laughed when he heard the list of new businesses in the area because he said they are different from the neighborhood he knew.
‘I’m amused by these chichi, New York-style restaurants with the laptops and Internet,’ he said. ‘But it’s all tremendous improvement.’