College Power Players: North Carolina State

36. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

Dining Head: Randy Lait, senior director of hospitality services
Total Enrollment: 34,009
Students Living on Campus: 8,074
No. of Meal Plans Sold: 9,420
Annual Dining Program Revenues: $34.15 million
Cost Range of Residential Meal Plans: $1,210-$1,680/semester
No. of Residential Dining Halls/Commons: 3
No. of Retail Outlets: 27
Management: self-operated
Website: dining.ncsu.edu
Phone: (919) 515-70122

Dining at NC State has received a significant boost with the openings of two new retail dining clusters a year ago: Talley Student Union and On the Oval. Talley includes signature diner, Mexican and pizza concepts along with a unit of the popular Jason’s Deli sandwich chain, and the most recent additions, Port City Java fair trade/organic coffee house and One Earth World Cuisine. A Starbucks is scheduled to be added next spring along with 1887 Bistro, which will double as a small performance/campus gathering spot. Talley’s onsite c-store, Talley’s Market, won a NACUFS Best in the Business C-store Award in 2014.

The $8.6 million On the Oval, part of a $140 million student housing project on the school’s Centennial campus, boasts four micro-restaurants (plus a diner for early morning and late-night service), indoor/outdoor seating for over 400 (plus a private dining room with seating for 25) and a collective menu that features low-fat, healthy, vegan and vegetarian options.

The concepts include Cold Fusion (sandwiches/wraps made with fresh bread, along with specialty salads and soups), Fahrenheit (artisan pizza made in a fire-deck oven, rotisserie meats/fish), Flashpoint (regional Asian, including fresh rolled sushi and customized noodle bowls) and Newton’s (diner foods, including Angus burgers, hand-cut fries and breakfast items). The facility also includes Newton’s Diner with its own seating area that enables it to operate as its own venue for late nights and weekends.

The residential dining program encompasses three AYCTE dining commons: Fountain on West Campus with six food stations (including the meatless Healthy Options), Clark on East Campus with four stations and Case in the Case Athletic Center on Central Campus, which menus display cooking options, pizza and grilled items and is reserved for the athletic training table in the evening.

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