Rams Head Dining Center at the University of North Carolina

In the newest and largest residential dining facility on the Chapel Hill campus, equipment and supplies support five distinct areas with their own décor, theme and menu selections, as well as a back-of-the-house kitchen.

By Donna Boss, Contributing Editor -- Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, 12/1/2005

In 2000, a master plan identified a need to connect the north and south sides of the University of North Carolina’s Chapel Hill campus. On the south side, where the majority of residential housing is located, very few foodservice options were available. The only way to get from one side to the other was to hike up and down a ravine. The solution: The ravine was filled in with a parking deck with a dining and recreation facility located on top. “By connecting the north and south sides of campus and providing recreation and food, we created a sense of community and a green space plaza,” explains Carolyn Elfland, UNC’s associate vice chancellor for campus services.

In March 2005, the $72.3 million, 30,000-square-foot Rams Head Center opened, complete with the Rams Head Dining Center, End Zone Sports Café, Rams Head Market, recreation facilities and a parking garage. The lower level of the center houses the 6,500-square-foot market. On the middle level is a bakeshop and storage for dry, refrigerated and frozen goods. The main plaza level consists of the dining center, a support kitchen for all of the foodservice operations, sports café, and recreation facilities.

“We selected a retail design for the dining center,” says Ira Simon, director, food and vending services. “We have a totally voluntary food program, with 5,500 of the 7,500 students — about 73.3% — who live on campus purchasing a meal plan. We wanted students to feel they have a wide variety of choices with their menu selections, ambiance and seating.

“Even though customers who enter the facility are entitled to eat all they want wherever they want to eat, each of five dining concepts has its own theme,” Simon continues. Each dining concept contains its own seating area, which establishes a distinctive “neighborhood.” The foodservices are managed and operated by Aramark Dining Services.

“Though each foodservice area is distinctive,” explains Carl Newmark, principal, Ricca-Newmark Design in Englewood, Colo., “we gave the center a sense of continuity by using dark wood trim, brick and tile on the walls, and terrazzo flooring throughout.”

Located directly in front of the $22 million dining center entrance is The Rolling Pin, a stand-alone, 1,775-square-foot bakery, which includes seating, and features homemade desserts, breads, parfaits, coffees, cappuccinos, ice cream, smoothies and other sweet snacks. Black and white mosaic tile, black satin wood counter fronts and white marble countertops and tabletops present a complementary environment for equipment including a convection oven, mobile pan rack carts, a stand-alone refrigerator, soft-serve machines, coffee grinders and brewers, an espresso machine and display cases for baked goods.

A full bakeshop on the middle level supports The Rolling Pin with such equipment as 80-, 60- and 20-quart mixers; a 60-gallon kettle; two roll-in rack ovens; a proofer; worktables; ingredient bins; and refrigerators. This area also contains a dedicated pot and pan washing section. “The foodservice staff could operate this bakery 24/7 if they wanted to,” explains Chape Whitman, principal, Ricca-Newmark Design in Washington, D.C.

Lean & Green, situated in 3,510-square-feet (including seating), hosts a full salad and fruit bar, soups, an ethnic station and made-to-order vegetarian and vegan selections. E&S here includes steamers that cook vegetables the staff prepare in the back kitchen, roll-in refrigerators, heated cabinets, service counters with hot and cold wells, soup wells, and a four-burner range for sautéing “World’s Fare” selections. Organic displays of tall glass vases filled with beans and other ingredients enhance the light modern décor and silver pendulum lighting. Perforated metal chairs and tabletops with pastel tiles contribute to the station’s airy ambiance.

The rustic, 922-square-foot Baracca’s Pizza, Pasta & Deli holds two huge brick ovens that bake made-to-order pizzas, calzones, rolletos and pasta dishes. The Mediterranean-tiled, bistro-like station with granite countertops and porcelain tile flooring also has preparation and display equipment with hot and cold wells for a make-your-own pasta dish station, oven-baked Italian casseroles and a made-to-order deli. Juice, soda, iced-tea and ice dispensers allow customers the convenience of selecting beverages within steps of their entrées. In the future, the Italian venue can operate independently and become a retail facility with its own entrance, according to Whitman.

Another venue, the Carolina Diner, is a recreation of a 1950s diner designed in 3,600-square-feet. This space features shiny laminated plastic tabletops rimmed in metal, stools, classic booth seating, vinyl-covered chairs and frosted block glass and serves traditional diner fare. This includes all-day breakfast with cooked-to-order omelets and accompaniments, and eight selections of cereal. In addition, another que offers a rotating menu of comfort foods, such as chicken fried steak or meat loaf with mashed potatoes, green beans and corn. A refrigerated counter displays salads and a cobbler bar with hand-dipped ice cream. The menu is prepared in the back and finished in the diner platform. Staff use a large range suite with a charbroiler, flat-top griddle, fryers, combi oven/steamers and refrigerators to prepare most of the menu items. Serving counters with hot and cold wells line two sides of this platform. A toaster and waffle bakers are also part of the equipment package, along with an array of beverage dispensing machines. Another popular feature in the diner is a classic jukebox set on free play.

The 3,436-square-foot Chop House is decorated in mahogany wood paneling and granite counters, touches of bronze metal tiles and copper, and upholstered chairs and booths. Staff use a charbroiler, flat-top griddle, fryers, refrigerators and serving counters with hot and cold food wells to cook and hold menu offerings such as classic smoked meats, char-grilled burgers, french fries, chicken with accompaniments and a rotating selection of grilled-to-order steaks, fish and jumbo chops. Staff cook barbecued pork items in a slow-cooking wood-fired oven to maximize flavor absorption. Butcher-block tabletops with wood and vinyl seating and what Steve Bass, interior designer with Ricca-Newmark Design, calls “arts and craftsy” décor contribute to the steakhouse ambiance.

“All of the concepts are designed so we can change themes if trends and tastes change,” Simon says.

A back-of-the-house kitchen supports the concepts to minimize wait time in lines. Approximately 2,000 students may pass through the facility during a peak meal period. “The operation is not cooking to order per se, but cooking to a par level,” Whitman says. “Many items are cooked continuously in small batches. Items such as lasagna, on the other hand, can be cooked in large volume in advance and held for some time without deteriorization.”

A dedicated elevator takes food deliveries from a sub level to the 2,969-square-foot middle level and bakery or the 2,840-square-foot plaza level kitchen and restaurants.

The BOH kitchen’s equipment is versatile to allow preparation of a huge variety of products offered in the FOH restaurants. E&S includes a 60-gallon kettle, convection ovens, a fryer assembly with fryers and a dump station, ranges with ovens below, a griddle, charbroiler, range, exhaust hoods, a convection steamer, 40-quart kettle, 40-gallon tilting skillet, worktables, a roll-in freezer, roll-in refrigerators, a food warmer, vegetable slicer, food cutter and potato processor.

When designing the center, the biggest technical challenge was proper installation of water lines, Whitman says. “Because the dining center is over the parking garage, we had to be very careful with the water lines. We brought these in from overhead and had to conceal them in chases and decorative materials.”

The positioning of the dining center also necessitated taping drain pipes with tape that has a low voltage electrical circuit flowing through it, Whitman adds.

Energy conservation was a prime consideration when selecting equipment, Whitman says. For example, E&S includes insulated dishwashers and a powered three-compartment pot sink to minimize pan and pot scrubbing.

With Rams Head Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has created a new center of life for campus residents. By positioning E&S behind the scenes for support and at the points of service, customers are guaranteed fresh prepared food in all venues. That alone should capture their fancy day after day.