Food truck, Woodstock new to USC campus
Winter break saw a handful of changes for Carolina Dining, from Russell House to Swearingen Engineering Center.
At the Russell House, Marble Slab Creamery and the Great American Cookie Company have moved down to the first floor, replacing Freshens, said Cynthia Steele, Dining’s marketing manager. They’ll also be open longer — until 3 a.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 p.m. on Friday and 1 a.m. on Sunday.
In their place, Woodstock, a soup and sandwich restaurant, is moving in.
It features a yogurt bar, all-day breakfast sandwiches, bread baked daily and fruit-infused teas, and it should open this week, pending final inspection, Steele said. It will also provide vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, she said.
Woodstock will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. It will be closed Saturday.
The moves stemmed from demand for more healthy options and low traffic at Freshens, as well as a scarcity of space in the student union.
“Space is pretty finite in the Russell House,” Steele said.
But fear not, Freshens fans. Marble Slab will now offer smoothies, and as an added bonus, it’s now accepting meal plans, she said.
Also contributing to the move toward healthy food: a fruit cart in the Grand Market Place with a bag of fruit for $6.09, or one lunch meal swipe; refined “balanced plate” offerings at Grand Market Place and the Honeycomb Cafe; and a new vegan bar at the Bates Diner.
It’s an effort to provide a vegetarian selection “that offers more than lettuce,” Steele said.
Elsewhere on campus, the trolley outside Swearingen has been taken out because its structure was deteriorating, Steele said, and it’ll be replaced by the Coop, Dining’s new food truck, which will feature chicken sandwiches, quesadillas, muffins, breakfast sandwiches and “Simply to Go” offerings. It’ll be there from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, starting today.
It hasn’t been equipped with technology yet, though, Steele said, so it’s only taking cash payments for the next few days. Steele wasn’t sure exactly when credit and debit cards and CarolinaCards will be accepted.
And in the coming months, part of McBryde Quadrangle’s A building will be renovated to be a convenience store, with a salad bar and food to go, similar to West Quad’s Cafe Verde, Steele said. That store should be open by around spring break.