University of Alabama’s new Fresh Food Company is a new freestanding building, replacing a smaller operation of the same name. Increased student enrollment and overcrowding of the previous location created an opportunity to design a brand new, fun dining destination.
The new construction project allowed for the planning of a dining center that is relevant to today’s student dining demands and trends, while being anticipatory of future needs. Seven Micro-Restaurants™ offer the foods students want: pizza and pasta, vegetarian, comfort foods, grilled foods, deli soups and sandwiches, salads, and desserts. Each one boasts its own identity.
Seating more than doubled from the original location and it is offered in a variety of environments. From dark and intimate to bright and open, soft chairs and a fireplace to long community tables, there truly is something for every preference and mood. Abundant natural light and large overhead doors help merge the indoors with the outdoors in one area. Recessed booths provide privacy in another.
The back-of-the-house is notably small. With much prep work and almost all cooking taking place at each venue, the “kitchen” consists of dry and refrigerated storage and a long prep counter. There is no cooking equipment in this area.