University of Missouri’s new dining experience lessens food waste and inventory

There are a lot of things people remember fondly about their college days as they grow older, but the dining experience typically isn’t one of them. The Restaurants at Southwest, a new dining facility located on the University of Missouri campus, may never find itself in the memories of former students as they long for their halcyon college days, but it will be an upgrade over traditional college fare for the university's nearly 33,000 students.

The Restaurants at Southwest forgoes the traditional buffet-style, all-you-can-eat service found in most dining halls and replaces it with a la carte service, which lessens food waste and inventory. In addition to a separate Starbucks facility, the dining Hall’s six restaurant-style dining options include:

• Legacy Grill - Classic burgers, hand-cut fries, quesadillas, nachos and chicken sandwiches.
• Tiger Avenue Deli - Philly-style sandwiches prepared and served hot off the grill.
• Olive & Oil - Mediterranean-influenced pasta with house made pasta sauces.
• 1+5+3 Soups & Salads - Made-from-scratch, healthy soups and salads that offer students vegetarian, vegan, and allergy-friendly options.
• 1839 Kitchen - Comfort foods such as rotisserie chicken and other protein choices.
• Truffles - Desserts, smoothies, yogurt parfaits, bagels and other healthy snacks.

The $15 million dining facility and adjoining residence hall comprises 30,000 sf and can seat 600 people. The space was designed to be a social hub for the Dobbs residential neighborhood.