On Aug. 14, USC unveiled Russell House’s new dining facility, Garnet Station, in a ribbon cutting ceremony. Various officials, including University President Michael Amiridis were present, as well as Student Body President Courtney Tkacs.
The buffet-style facility features pizza, deli options, a salad bar, grill and cold brew machines among other offerings.
Clete Myers, resident district manager of Carolina Food Company, said the renovations were part of a larger effort to revitalize campus dining, starting with Russell House.
“We’ve been able to expand to over 500 seats here,” Myers said. “On top of that, we were also able to reconfigure the Gamecock Park to where it now is a retail dining option.”
The new retail dining options being introduced in Gamecock Park include Cicci De Carne, which sells Italian sandwiches, salad bowls at El Pollo Verde, poke bowls at Stonie’s Bowls and acai bowls at Blenz, Congaree Craft Pizza and Union Grill.
Tkacs, a fourth-year political science and public health student, said the expansion efforts at Russell House reflected the needs of USC’s growing student body.
In her speech, Tkacs said meeting other new students at Russell House was a key part of her college experience.
“By the end of lunch, I had made my first real friends here on campus,” Tkacs said. “That’s the power of a space like this. It’s not just about the eating, it’s about the connections that happen around the table.”
Tkacs said she hopes this project is only the beginning of Russell House improvements, and its success will serve as a jumping off point for further renovations.
Joe Fortune, USC’s director of business affairs said the facility was completed on a five-month timeline, several months ahead of the usual schedule for similar projects and was a deeply collaborative effort.
“It took a remarkable set of people coming together,” Fortune said. “It (took) endless planning meetings to make sure that we were successful not only for the project, but also that we were still successful in other things that were operating in and around the Russell House.”
In his speech during the ribbon cutting ceremony, Fortune also paid tribute to Tiru Chabba a Greenville native tragically killed in the mass shooting at Florida State University last April. Chabba worked with Fortune through his role as regional vice president for Aramark, USC’s dining partner.
“Tiru was more than a business partner. He was a builder of community, a champion of belonging and a friend to all,” Fortune said. “His vision felt shaped on the station into more than just a dining space.”
Fortune said a plaque will be hung in honor of Chabba in Garnet Station’s private dining room.
Garnet Station is located of the first floor of Russell House. Breakfast entry is priced at $11.00, while lunch and dinner cost $15.35. Breakfast is served from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on weekdays, with a delayed 8:30 a.m. start on weekends. Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and dinner from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., extended to 10 p.m. on Sunday.
More information on Garnet Station and its menu items is available here and on USC dining's Instagram page.