Umphrey Lee Crews are working around the clock to put the finishing touches on the renovated Real Food on Campus “residential restaurant” located in the Umphrey Lee building. The new cafeteria will utilize several stations or “pods” that will provide easier access to food as well as increased variety in food choices. In addition, the new system will allow for more food to be prepared in front of diners, as opposed to being prepared in a back kitchen and then brought to the serving lines.

The location was completely gutted, and the new dining area has been under construction since final exam week in May.

Among the biggest additions are a new entrance and new restrooms that are located in the main dining room, eliminating the need to leave the dining room to access the restrooms.

RFoC will offer breakfast food during all meal times, and the new breakfast station will include a bakery with seating areas around the station.

Pizza will become a daily offering this year, and the new pizza station will also include seating so diners can watch the pizzas being made.

Another station, the “Home Zone,” will provide home-style cooking, including meats cooked on a rotisserie.

In previous years, many students have preferred the hamburgers prepared at the Mac’s Place dining center located in the McElvaney residence hall because they were prepared on a charbroiler as opposed to a flat grill. RFoC will now have such a charbroiler.

The deli station has state of the art drop-in refrigeration units. The units are not yet available to the public, and officials from SMU Dining Services said they worked with the manufacturer to get the units early. What makes these units unique is that not only do they keep food cool, but they can also be used to keep foods warm. This versatility is due to increased insulation in the units.

The new drop-in units aren’t the only measures being taken to provide a clean, sanitary cafeteria. The RFoC location was guilty of a handful of health code violations last September, so Dining Services has enhanced food safety features in order to exceed the standards set by health codes. These include the addition of knee-operated sinks with hands-free paper towel and soap dispensers. There are also plans to install instant hand sanitizer dispensers at the entrance of all Dining Services locations around campus for diners to use.

The new RFoC will open its doors on Aug. 17. Students can purchase meal plans by going to http://access.smu.edu and accessing the “Campus Essentials” section of the site.