San Diego State dining services gets an upgrade

SAN DIEGO — With a variety of food options around campus, it could be overwhelming for students to narrow their search down to one specific restaurant. While Chipotle, The Habit, Subway and the Aztec Market continue to serve the same, delicious food, the newly renovated University Towers Kitchen is preparing foods different seasons of the year to satisfy any cravings. 

San Diego State Dining Services Director Paul Melchior said the only thing that exists from the old building are steel beams that sit as a base for the building.

“We took down the old building which was 50 years old and crumbling, including the plumbing underground,” Melchior said. “We built it from below the floor all the way up.”

Starting from scratch made designing the building easier for SDSU Dining Services to create a restaurant the way they intended to, with a sustainable design. In the past, a wall separated the kitchen from the customer. With the new renovations, customers are able to watch as food is being prepared with nothing to block the view.

Renovating the building also included a new menu full of healthier food options. The many chefs who work from behind the counter start every meal from scratch, no processed foods are used.

“It’s all designed so we can buy whole ingredients,” Melchior said. “As those ingredients move forward, they go through a processing phase, which all leads to a continuous menu change.”

Associate Director and Executive Chef for Aztec Shops Ed Glebus said the heart of the UTK is the food. For every menu, the chefs work hard to make sure nothing goes to waste.

“A lot of the stuff we start with are whole grains and whole vegetables,” said Glebus. “What we do from there is take trimmings from that and utilize everything that we have coming