University of Michigan honored for campus-dining renovations

After extensive renovations, the University of Michigan’s Central Campus Dining at South Quad and Fireside Cafe in Pierpont Commons have earned the school two 2015 Loyal E. Horton Dining Award grand prizes, given by the National Association of College and University Food Services.

For Residential Dining Concepts at a Large School, Michigan Dining took home the Gold Award for its Central Campus Dining at South Quad facility. The university spent $60 million on the all-you-can-eat dining hall, which features 10 themed micro-restaurants, including Asian, Mediterranean, vegan and smokehouse concepts. There’s also a special pantry for the campus’ growing population of students with food allergies and those with a preference for gluten-free foods.

The university also won the Grand Prize and Gold Award for Retail Sales—Multiple Concepts/Marketplace at a Large School for Fireside Café at Pierpont Commons, the student union on North Campus. The six-month, $5.3 million facility renovation was completed in September of last year and is now a micro-restaurant-themed eatery with five different stations, including one that features a different Ann Arbor ethnic restaurant daily, and a large salad bar featuring artisan breads and original home-style soups.

"Its an honor to be recognized not once, but twice, with the Grand Prize Award. These successes are due to the great effort by hundreds of people in Michigan Dining. I'm proud of the teamwork that creates delicious, healthy food in responsible, sustainable ways," said Michigan Dining Director Steve Mangan in a
statement.