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Back to School

bucks, the desserts and ice going to do is change that to
cream and put it out into build-your-own sandwiches.
the dining room near to the You can still have a Panini,
door,” said Backes. “It is a we’ll still have the presses
separate entity unto itself. there, but it is more of a
It is nowhere near the other build-your-own concept.”
food, so it very much has Grill Works will feature
a coffee shop feel. We have grilled items, many made to
24/7 dining and unlimited order. “We do have items pre-
access, so if someone wants made during peak periods so
to come in and not have a full someone can just come in
meal, maybe a cappuccino and grab a hamburger, but
or pastry, they can.” we do try to cook hamburg-
The area is also used for ers, chicken breast, grilled
late-night dining. “At night, cheese sandwiches, any of
after 11 p.m., that [main ser- those types of things,” he said.
vice] area in the back will be Kitchen will feature All-
closed off, so that 24/7 dining American classics. “That is
will encompass a cooked-to- very much your traditional
order station, where you can have limited items, anything items,” said Backes. “This was done for people who do want to
from entrées to breakfast items, dinner items and the dessert, see a casserole, a chicken pot pie — all of your comfort foods.”
bagels, cappuccino, coffee station. That will be open as well. A station that is very important to the students is Red &
You can have sandwiches made there, and the salad bar will Green, which will feature New Mexican local favorites. “It is
be open, too.” incredibly important to offer local favorites,” he said. “I have
The main service area, which Backes refers to as the scramble never seen the affiliation that people have with their culture
area, now has more of an open feel and offers a variety of and state more than I have here. It is important that we do it
stations. “In the scramble area, which we have shrunk a great and we do it right. We can’t do a Mexican concept here that
deal, we are continuing to have what we called The Press, a they do in Boston. It is not going to fly here.”
Panini station. We found that very few students wanted Panini. The recipes are authentic. “Many of the recipes are from
They all like that Subway, Blimpie-type concept. What we are employees here,” said Backes. “Our cream of green chile
chicken soup is probably one of our most popular items, and
that is from one of our employees who was here when I came
here 22 years ago. We try to do something each month during
the school year. We ask people to submit their favorite recipe
from their parents, and we have a judging panel. Whichever
one is selected is offered, and we look to put those on the
menu, too.”
The dining hall also caters to students with special dietary
needs with a vegan and vegetarian station and a not-made-
with-gluten station. “We don’t call it gluten-free because it
is not hermetically sealed,” he said.
La Posada now features national brands Papa John’s and
Freshens. “The reason we decided to have a branded concept
in there was that the students are so brand driven,” he said.
“They want to know that if they go to Papa John’s here or in
Las Cruces or New York, they are going to get the same thing.”
The La Posada renovation also provides the university with
an opportunity to reinvigorate students’ perception of Dining,
according to Chanel Wiese, operation specialist with UNM
Dining and Food Services and MBA student at the school.
“Every semester is a chance to welcome the new fresh-
men,” she said. “We get to do that as well as show the rest of
the campus community what it means to ‘Eat like a Lobo.’”
The school has events planned for the grand opening. “We
plan on hosting a block party in conjunction with our grand
opening event so that we can showcase the food inside the
building, as well as the plaza space in front of it, which we
want to brand as a very traditional college quad,” said Wiese.
“We are calling it the Quad at La Posada, and really making
that a meeting spot will also help students see it as a meeting
place and a place that maybe in 20 years they will be telling a
story about meeting their spouse at the Quad at La Posada.”
—OCH

20 | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017 ON-CAMPUS HOSPITALITY