C. Dennis Piece, who most recently served as the Executive Director of Dining Services, announced his retirement in April.  Pierce has provided UConn with 34 years of devoted service and he will be greatly missed by students and colleagues alike.

A talented leader and accomplished food service administrator, his vision and expertise in college dining services has driven notable enterprise growth in resident board operations, retail, and the catering service sectors. His achievements have been featured in Food Service Director, Food Management, and Restaurant & Institutions magazines. He currently writes a column in Neighbor’s, a local regional paper, called, From the Ground Up, Buying Local in Connecticut, for which he has received two Connecticut Journalism awards. He has held the position of the President of the National Association of College & University Association, and has been the recipient of the Association’s Ted Minah award, the most prestigious recognition that the association offers. Topping off his foodservice career, Dennis received the Silver Plate Award for the College & University sector, Class of 2018, by the International Food Manufacturer’s Association.

Dennis’ attention to detail, while keeping the broader picture in mind, has been invaluable. His willingness to put in extra time and effort to help UConn meet the varied needs of students has demonstrated a commitment to excellence that we have come to depend upon.

A national search will be conducted in the fall to refill the Executive Director of Dining Services position.

Beginning Thursday, May 6th, the following updates have been made for dining at McMahon.

Dining at McMahon will continue to be take-out with no indoor seating until May 13th. Beginning May 13th, indoor seating will be available, however, food will still be served in to-go containers. McMahon has also returned to regular hours. McMahon will be open through June 12th. Beginning June 13th, meals will be served at South Dining Hall through the rest of the summer.

McMahon Hours: 7 days a week

Breakfast: 7am-9:30am
Lunch: 11:00am-2:30pm
Dinner: 4pm-7:15pm (Ramadan pick up 7:15-8:30pm through May 12th)

Students in Medical Quarantine or Isolation

Students in isolation will still be moved to Mansfield Apartments and have their food delivered by UConn Catering.

Students who are in medical quarantine will have their food delivered to them by UConn Catering.

When a student is removed from medical quarantine status their last delivery from Catering will be breakfast on that day and they will be able to eat at McMahon for lunch.

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Retail Locations:

What’s Open?

• Beanery Cafe* (Benton Museum) – through May 7th, Mon-Fri, 7:30am-3:00pm 
• Market Cafe* (Student Union) – May-August – Mon-Fri, 7:30am-3pm 
• Convenience Store* (Student Union) – May-August – Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm
• Mango* (Student Rec Center) through May 7th, Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm

On this episode of GWTF, we talk food at UConn. *does happy food dance*

Michael White, Dining Services representative, joins us to talk about the different options available to students on campus as well as the accommodations provided.

Our very own Riley McNaboe, joins Manny and Rode as they talk about their favorite dining halls on campus and the different dishes you can enjoy when visiting our DS facilities.

Mason Love changes it up and talks HUSKYMANIA and the love we all have for sports at UConn.

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-p9925-1014dbb

 

Here’s the scoop: UConn Dairy Bar to fully open

MICHELLE WARREN

Chronicle Staff Writer

STORRS — Customers have been picking up their frozen treats outside the UConn Dairy Bar for almost a year due to the pandemic.

While better than nothing, folks have been eagerly looking forward to the day they can stop by the landmark and order a cup of dairy deliciousness themselves.

Starting Thursday, they can.

As they were busy preparing for customers, dairy bar employees expressed enthusiasm about returning to some normalcy as the state’s COVID-19 metrics and vaccinations rates have allowed this key step.

“I know the customers are probably ecstatic,” UConn Dairy Bar employee Nicole DiMare, a junior at UConn, said while at the restaurant Tuesday.

On Thursday, the ice cream shop’s main store, which is at 17 Manter Road, will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Read more of this article at https://thechronicle.com/stories/20210421DAIRYBAR.php

 

 

After 10 months of online ordering with curbside pick up, the UConn Dairy Bar is officially reopening their doors to the public on Thursday, April 22nd.

The Dairy Bar will be closed on Wednesday, April 21st so that they can prepare for the reopening. Online ordering will no longer be available.

Hours going forward will be Thursday through Sunday from 11am-7pm.

• Masks and distancing are required.
• Please follow the signage on the property.
• Limited outdoor seating.

Shakes and sundaes are back on the menu and the retail refrigerators/freezers will have (based on availability): half gallons, cheese, eggs, Moo Packs, and giant ice cream sandwiches.

Kuhl said lots of UConn’s culture has changed over the course of his time there. He spoke about changes in the structure of the semester and events that took place. 

“We’ve seen a lot over the years,” Kuhl said. “Academics have changed, they used to bring kids back on campus before classes started in the fall for a huge WoW (Week of Welcome) picnic … One year, I was responsible for doing the food part, but I would work with student activities, and they would plan the bands and work with me on the theme.” 

Kuhl went on to discuss his development of the student management program. He said he felt the program was a great way for students to develop managerial skills for the future. 

“Each dining hall then did an interview process and would then hire student managers,” Kuhl said. “They took over the role of, like, hiring, doing all the paperwork for student payroll, doing the payroll, and then overseeing supervisors, so it was such a great experience for these kids, and that’s probably the best part that I love about my job is working with students and seeing them grow.” 

Kuhl also spoke about the managerial training program he helped establish. He said the program gives people the opportunity to work in various diverse dining environments.  Read more on Daily Campus

Dining Halls:

McMahon (beginning Thursday, May 6th)

• Take-out only
• No indoor seating (indoor seating begins May 13th, however food will still be served in to-go containers)

Regular Hours:

Breakfast: 7am-9:30am
Lunch: 11:00am-2:30pm
Dinner: 4pm-7:15pm (Ramadan pick up 7:15-8:30pm through May 12th)

Students in Medical Quarantine or Isolation

Students in isolation will still be moved to Mansfield Apartments and have their food delivered by UConn Catering.

Students who are in medical quarantine will have their food delivered to them by UConn Catering.

When a student is removed from medical quarantine status their last delivery from Catering will be breakfast on that day and they will be able to eat at McMahon for lunch.

---

Retail Locations:

What’s Open?

• Beanery Cafe* (Benton Museum) – through May 7th, Mon-Fri, 7:30am-3:00pm 
• Market Cafe* – (Student Union) – May-August – Mon-Fri, 7:30am-3pm 
• Convenience Store* (Student Union) – May-August – Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm
• Mango* – (Student Rec Center) through May 7th, Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm

UConn’s food truck gets new spin as kitchen-to-outdoor serving station hybrid

Click the image below to read more from Food Management magazine about the spring semester revival of the Food For Thought Food Truck.

DINING HALLS: Normal hours

RETAIL: For Sunday, April 4th, dining locations in the Student Union (USM & Market Cafe) will open at 1:00 pm and close at 8:00pm. Bookworms Cafe and Dairy Bar will be closed on April 4th.

The UConn Creamery has produced some new cheese flavors that are now available for sale at the Dairy Bar. There are also new flavors of queso (now known as Old Farm Lane Fresh Cheese).

The Storrs Original Farmstead Jack is made with fresh UConn milk and a unique mix of cultures that produce a buttery masterpiece that is dense and creamy with a sweet, tangy, and slightly sharp finish.

The 1881 Reserve is hand-selected blocks of Storrs Original Farmstead Jack that are further matured to achieve their full potential. As a result, 1881 is more complex; rich, and nutty with notes of fruit.

Current flavors of Old Farm Lane Fresh cheese include roasted bell pepper, original, diced green chili, black olive, bacon, chipotle, pepperoni, and cracked black pepper.

And don’t forget Juustoleipa! This Finland-style “bread cheese” is available in plain, jalapeno, and pepperoni.

Open for online ordering with curbside pick-up Wednesday-Sunday from 11am-5pm; orders must be placed by 4:30pm. Customers should expect a minimum 30-minute wait for their order to be prepared.