Baylor University aims for "crown jewel of campus dining"

WACO, Texas—Students can expect huge changes in campus dining by the start of the fall semester.

Penland Food Court will undergo a full-scale renovation, said Brett Perlowski, the director of dining services at Baylor. The interior will be completely gutted and 14,000 square-foot will be added to the exterior of the building for the new dining area, and dining at Penland will be completely different, he said.

The dining area will be kitchenless. Instead of a main kitchen, there will be a full wok set up, smoker for meats, a fresh tortilla machine and a bakery. Only scratch dough will be used for pizzas, Perlowski said.

“You’ll see all of it happening,” he said, referring to students being able to watch the food preparation and cooking processes because of the kitchenless set-up.

Students will be allowed to request special meals prepared for them by a chef in the new Penland dining area, Perlowski said. Dining services is also in the process of hiring a registered dietician who will be on staff at the new dining facility.

“We’re not cutting corners on the facility,” Perlowski said. “It will be the crown jewel of campus dining.”