'Fresh Food' construction underway
Celebrating the official groundbreaking of the Fresh Food Company residential dining facility at Mississippi State University were (from left to right): Jason Nall, executive director, MSU Dining Services (ARAMARK); Amy Tuck, MSU vice president for campus services; Bill Kibler, MSU vice president for student affairs; Brett Harris, MSU Student Association president; Mark E. Keenum, MSU president; Jerry Gilbert, MSU provost and executive vice president; Don Zant, MSU vice president for budget and planning; Brandon Jolly, MSU associate general counsel; Jerry Maxcy, executive vice president, JESCO Inc.; and Bruce Wood, principal, JH&H Architects, Planners, Interiors, PA. PHOTO: Russ Houston
Mississippi State will be offering a new kind of all-you-care-to-eat dining in fall 2015.
Construction has begun on The Fresh Food Company, a 29,000 sq.-ft. residential dining facility on the former site of the university's intramural tennis courts at the south side of campus.
The total project cost of $14 million includes construction of the facility and six new state-of-the-art tennis courts that opened recently at the RecPlex, which is located just east of the Wise Center.
With an emphasis placed on fresh, cooked-to-order meals, the Fresh Food Company will offer patrons dining options not currently available on campus.
Bill Broyles said the project is scheduled for completion in July 2015 and should be open for business prior to next year's fall semester.
"The whole concept of the Fresh Food Company is to have all of the food prepared right in front of you, as opposed to having it prepared in a kitchen and then just brought out to serve," said MSU's assistant vice president for student affairs.
The building will have an indoor seating capacity of 480 and a 48-seat outdoor dining area on its northwest corner, along with a student lounge, Broyles said.
Food destinations will include traditional southern-style fare, sauté and stir-fry, signature salads, along with deli selections, a breakfast bar, rotisserie, and an international station equipped with a Mongolian grill.
Broyles said the new eatery will accept a variety of payment options including meal plan Block Meals, Flex Dollars, MoneyMate, cash and credit cards.
Bruce Wood of Flowood-based JH&H Architects is providing design services, while Mississippi-based JESCO is the contractor. Wood is a graduate of MSU's School of Architecture.
"We're pretty excited about this building," Broyles said. "Some of our competitors are doing something like this when it comes to dining, but not to the scale of this project."
"We do things in a first-class manner here at Mississippi State, and this facility is really going to provide enhanced dining on campus, not only for students but for visitors as well," he added.
For more on the project, contact Broyles at 662-325-7532 or bbroyles@saffairs.msstate.edu.
Complete information about MSU Dining Services is available at www.msstatedining.com.
Sasha Steinberg | Public Affairs
