Grinnell's Dining Overhaul, Grinnell, Iowa
This Iowa college consolidated its dining operations, creating a state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly marketplace.
By Lisa White, Contributing Editor -- Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, 12/15/2008 12:00:00 AM
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| This state-of-the-art project incorporated a number of environmentally friendly elements into the design. |
As if consolidating two dining halls into one wasn't a tall enough order, the team working on Grinnell College's foodservice transformation was also incorporating a sustainable design into the building process.
Although the college's first green initiative was an important milestone, it was quickly overshadowed by the Marketplace, which has redefined dining at Grinnell. This project was more than five years in the making.
To better understand the scope of this project, it helps to become familiar with the school. Established in 1846, Grinnell College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college attended by 1,500 students.
According to Dick Williams, director of dining services, the college's former foodservice facilities consisted of five separate areas, including the Quad and Cowles Dining Halls, a grab 'n go area and convenience store, cash operation and catering kitchen. That was the case before Grinnell consolidated its foodservice operations in the fall of 2006. “We are a small, residential campus, so we wanted an efficient and economical facility. It needed to be state-of-the-art in order to handle all of our needs,” Williams says.
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| At Honor G Grill, hot sandwiches are made to order with a grill, flat top or fryer. |
To help develop its new foodservice facility, Grinnell sought the services of Denver's Ricca Newmark Design as its kitchen designer and architects Cesar Pelli and Associates.
“The college had two aging dining facilities dating back to 1916 and 1945, so a completely new campus center needed to be built,” says Al Moller, Ricca Newmark's studio design principal.
From the project's onset, the architect had a specific design in mind. “The architects provided the direction and we worked in conjunction with them to develop and execute the design,” Moller says. “The look of the building from Cesar Pelli's point of view was critical. Even a small change would affect the overall project.”
There were design constraints due to both the nature of the building and its aesthetics. Initially, uniform materials were selected for the interior but that idea was later scrapped when it became apparent that the individual venues required more differentiation.
There also was a learning curve, since this project was the college's first effort to incorporate a sustainable design into its building process. Grinnell sought third-party verification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for LEED certification. Becoming certified provided a variety of benefits, including environmental, economic and occupant-oriented performance, and health advantages. By becoming LEED certified, the college would reap the benefits such as decreasing its operating costs while saving energy.
According to Williams, the project achieved Silver LEED Certification by composting waste, incorporating automatic hoods, utilizing energy-saving combi ovens and specifying Energy Star-rated equipment whenever possible.
A further testament to its focus on sustainability and environmentally friendly practices is the college's efforts to identify and make purchases of affordably priced local food products.
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| Because the entire campus shuts down for lunch, the new design's open areas accommodate a large number of diners at one time |
The Sustainable Endowments Institute has recognized Grinnell Dining Services' efforts in local food purchasing and recycling. Using a grading scale of A through F, the college received an “A” in the Food and Recycling category. Its foodservice program uses local products for most staple ingredients, including organic flour and local milk, eggs, herbs, pork, and some fruits and vegetables. Consumer food waste is composted using a pulping machine and donated to a local farm, diverting approximately seven tons of waste per month.
In addition to the construction's green aspects, a great deal of research was conducted on the equipment side, which helped meet the project goals. “Ricca Newmark was extremely knowledgeable, providing the pros and cons of equipment that was under consideration,” Williams says.
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| The large hearth oven is a centerpiece in the pizza/pasta station |
One unique tradition at Grinnell, which affected the facility's design, is that classes shut down for lunch. “This meant that the dining hall is serving the entire campus at the same time. Consequently, we had to change our rule of thumb and make sure the new design could accommodate a larger demand than is typical for a college of this size,” Moller says.
Williams says there is no mistaking the rush period, which typically finds up to 650 people seeking lunch between noon and 12:15 p.m. “Still, we can't prepare food too far in advance with a display cooking setup. It came down to finding flexible equipment that is dependable and ready to perform,” he says.
Despite being a smaller school, Grinnell takes its foodservice seriously, and has a Dining Mission Statement to prove it. This states that it is the school's mission “to provide dining services that exceed the needs of those we serve, through customer service and quality products, in an ethical and responsible manner, in support of the overall mission of the College.”
The new facility, called the Joe Rosenfield '25 Center, houses the Marketplace, The Spencer Grill and the school's catering department. Opened in fall 2006, the 16,000-square-foot, $42 million facility features a number of diverse seating areas.
In the Marketplace, a separate seating area is contained in a dramatic, cathedral-like setting. The majority of seating is provided in a large, open dining area with panoramic views of the central campus, and a cozy wooden booth section. Mezzanine seating is available on the second floor. The front of the facility features a crescent-shaped seating area with colorful banquettes. Three private dining rooms are also available for reservation. The Marketplace seats approximately 800 people.
Customers can watch staff prepare the majority of the all-you-care-to-eat Marketplace menu offerings. The wok station offers fresh stir-fry, while a pizza area serves fresh pies. The Honor G Grill station serves hot sandwiches made to order and a vegan station offers dishes free of meat and dairy. A pasta/sauce bar provides a multitude of options, as does the Eggs to Order station.
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| Grinnell's Marketplace provides a variety of traditional dishes, including rotisserie items and carved meats, at its Plat du Jour station. |
At the Plat du Jour, students and staff can choose from rotisserie items, carved meats and other traditional dishes. Other options include a salad/soup bar, 8th Avenue Deli, dessert bar, ice cream and Belgian waffle station, cereal/bread station and multiple beverage areas.
The 850-square-foot Spencer Grill à la carte operation replaced the campus Forum Grill. This cash operation is open from morning until late night. It is located on the main level of the Joe Rosenfield '25 Center, separate from the Marketplace, and provides seating for over 100.
In the Joe's basement resides a 1,150-square-foot from-scratch bakery, which includes rack ovens, proofers, a spiral mixer, a cookie dough dropper, a fryer, a dough press and both 60- and 80-quart mixers. A 225-square-foot laundry area and 2,700-square-feet of bulk storage are also in the basement.
The new facility's second floor includes a 1,150-square-foot catering kitchen, as Grinnell's program brings in approximately $650,000 a year in sales. “This is very efficient, provides good yields and is easy to operate,” Williams says.
In addition, two student-run kitchens, totaling 240-square-feet, add to the uniqueness of the venue. “The Kosher and multi-cultural kitchens are both run by student organizations and used for special events,” Moller says.
Of the $42 million budget, the equipment allocation consumes $2.2 million.
Executive Chef Scott Turley was instrumental in choosing efficient equipment that offered the best value, Williams says.
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| The Marketplace at Grinnell, the school's sole dining center, features display cooking at a number of diverse food stations. |
One of the dining service's biggest expenses is equipment repair. While the former facilities allocated $3,500 a year for repairs, the new Marketplace has earmarked $18,000. “This is because we have literally 10 times the equipment that we had before the rebuild,” Williams explains. “Plus, the facility was transformed from a traditional college cafeteria setup into eight marketplace venues. With this arrangement, an increased amount of equipment that has sophisticated technology is more heavily utilized.
“The previous equipment was electric, but now about 90 percent of our units use gas. This provides better temperature control and is more energy-efficient,” Williams says.
Efficiency also is enhanced with four combi ovens. “They have proved so invaluable, that we plan to add another larger unit in a couple of years. This has made our processes even more efficient. We not only have better yields, but also can easily train entry-level employees on this equipment,” Williams says.
User-friendly equipment was important to incorporate, since the facility relies on 300 student workers. About half of these staff members work in the presentation areas, operating equipment such as the fryer or wok. “Prep is not a remedial job,” Williams says.
The Marketplace is run by 47 full-time employees. Breakfast is served from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., lunch from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and dinner from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. “We considered implementing continuous feeding, but it just wasn't economical,” Williams says. “With some stations only serving two to three customers at a time, limiting serving hours to meal times works best for us.”
The stir-fry station, one of the most popular venues, features display cooking in four 16-inch woks on a wok range.
A large hearth oven is the centerpiece of the pizza/pasta section, where staff make dough and sauce from scratch. This area also features a sauté station and countertop induction heating.
“This station used to have a pasta cooker, but after six months we replaced it with two combi ovens. We also swapped out two steamers and installed a dishwasher,” Williams says. “We have a high population of vegetarians, so we are constantly cleaning our sauté pans and utensils between use.”
The Honor G Grill area features a grill, flat top and fryer, while the 8th Avenue Deli recently added an oven for toasting. “When we began toasting our sandwiches, sales increased from 100 sandwiches a day to 400,” Williams says.
The Spencer Grill offers patrons morning coffee, a light lunch, a late-night snack, or fresh-baked items. It operates Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to midnight; Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.; Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.; and Sunday 1:00 p.m. to midnight.
The Marketplace and Spencer Grill are supported by a main kitchen, called the Heart of the House or HOH. This 830-square-foot section is located on the first floor, adjacent to the Marketplace servery. The HOH is mainly used for comfort foods and sauces.
Equipment in this section includes a blast chiller, slicer, combi oven, grill, flat top, oven, rotisserie, tilting skillet, kettle and refrigeration.
“It is a very compact area. If I could go back in time, I would make it larger,” Williams says. Its circular shape means the area can get congested during busy times. “It's one of those things where it's easier to evaluate after the fact.”
One of the project's centerpieces is its new dishroom. “This is one of the neatest things about the project,” Moller says. “It features an elaborate and sophisticated two-tier conveyor system that seems to be working well with the increased volume.”
With the creation of its innovative marketplace campus center, Grinnell College is now able to offer its students a more contemporary dining facility. The upgraded and varied menu, enhanced service and entertaining display cooking are just some of the benefits available to diners.
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"There also was a learning curve, since this project was the college's first effort to incorporate a sustainable design into its building process. Grinnell sought third-party verification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for LEED certification"
-Not true, the research station at the Conard Environmental Research Area is also LEED certified, as are the East Campus dorms. Both projects were completed before the Dining Hall was built.
"At Honor G Grill, hot sandwiches are made to order with a grill, flat top or fryer."
-Hot sandwiches are actually made to order at the Deli with a toaster.
Eric - 12/21/2008 9:51:00 AM PST -
I have fond memories of working at both the "Wok Bar" and "Belgian Waffle Bar" during my time as a student. I am glad to see that these popular food services managed to adapt and evolve into the new generation of dining.
I wish the article showed pictures of students in the eating areas, rather than just pictures of the serving and cooking areas.
Kat DiFoxfire '93
Kathryn DiFoxfire - 12/19/2008 3:41:00 PM PST
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