2014 College Power Players: Central Florida

UCF's '63 South

Students Living on Campus: 13,000
Dining Head: Robbie Turner, resident district manager
Total Enrollment: 59,770
No. of Meal Plans Sold: 5,000
Annual Dining Program Revenues: $15 million
Cost Range of Residential Meal Plans: $1,100-$1,950/semester
No. of Residential Dining Halls/Commons: 2
No. of Retail Outlets: 12
Management: Aramark
Website: www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSS/UnivCentralFlorida
Phone: (407) 823-2651

No student at UCF is required to purchase a meal plan, which forces the campus dining operation to fight for every dollar it earns against the many commercial alternatives ringing the campus located northeast of Orlando.

The campus dining mix is heavy on retail alternatives to attract the tens of thousands of commuters who come to the school each day as well as the 13,000 residents. Two all-you-care-to-eat dining halls (’63 South and Knightro’s) serve primarily resident students, who can choose either an all-access unlimited meal option for the dining halls (plus limited retail swipes) or more economical per-week or semester block options.

Some recent developments at UCF include the opening of a full service Starbucks this past May in the Health and Public Affairs Building, in the heart of the school’s academic core.

Also, the main dining hall was rebranded as ’63 South, designed to celebrate the school’s history and culture (UCF was founded in 1963), and the Burger King Whopper Bar in the student union was converted into a Nathan’s, which opened the first day of the fall semester in August.

Other national brands offered in the retail dining mix include Einstein Brothers Bagels (with two locations) and Chick-fil-A, as well the Java City coffeeshop concept.

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