Johnson & Wales Charlotte puts student choice at the heart of new virtual dining concepts

This fall, students at Johnson & Wales University's Charlotte campus in North Carolina have two new dining options that were tailor-made to fit their needs.  

The Caf to Go and The Maple to Go are two virtual concepts that were born from student feedback garnered from surveys and more.

“We held some focus groups in conjunction with the university to make sure that we heard their feedback and even down to what kind of hours of operation they wanted in these places,” says Chartwells Higher Ed District Marketing Manager Ryan Murray.

In addition to offering expanded late-night hours, the new dining destinations offer students a menu full of their favorite foods that will continue to evolve as they do.

Expanding hours

The menus at both The Caf to Go and The Maple to Go are similar and include “a core list of student favorites,” says Dining Director Paul Reinfeld, like boba tea, smoothies, wings and flatbreads.

Certain menu items, like burgers, are always available at both locations. In addition to the fixed options, students can also select a weekly rotating dish that is unique to each space. Students place their orders via mobile app and can use their meal plan or credit card.

At The Caf to Go, service runs continuously from lunch to 11 p.m. Night owls who arrive after the kitchen is closed can still grab food using the space’s 24/7 smart vending machines which include Costa Coffee and Just Baked, which offers everything from bao to burritos.

“When we were considering these vending pieces, we learned from the Just Baked team that the peak hours for their business is like two in the morning,” says Reinfeld.

The Maple to Go has more limited hours of operation since it's housed in a building that the university recently converted into student housing. Currently, the space is only open from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. Those times will expand as the university continues to move more students into the building.

“It's going to be built in phases,” says Reinfeld. “So phase one, we only have 120 students, but, once we max out to like 300 to 400 students in that building, we're going to expand hours.”

The Caf to Go includes smart vending machines to provide 24/7 food access to students. 

Meeting the evolving needs of students

Looking toward the future, student feedback will continue to play an integral role in how the menu at both spaces evolves.

As the school year goes on, students will be able to make their voices heard through surveys, word of mouth and more. The dining team is especially interested in hearing from new students who arrived on campus for the first time only a couple weeks ago.

“As we survey them, and we learn from what they want to see, then the menu will continue to evolve," says Reinfeld.

Later in the semester, the team is also planning to launch a social media campaign where students will get to select new names for both spaces.

Both concepts have been met positively by the Johnson & Wales community so far and both Reinfeld and Murray are excited to see how they will change in the future in response to the evolving needs of students.

“I think the coolest thing is really being able to hear the voices of our students and kind of meet them where they are,” says Murray.