Updated dining options are coming to Belmont’s Curb Cafe and Beaman Student Life Center in the new semester.
Curb Cafe, which previously was home to an express Chick-fil-A and Mein Bowl, is currently being renovated and turned into a full-service Chick-fil-A restaurant that will offer the chicken chain’s complete menu.
“Curb Cafe is getting a makeover,” said Keith Chapman, managing director of auxiliary services at Belmont.
The stage and seating areas in the cafe are being updated with a more modern look, including the installation of bar seating along the windows that look out to Belmont Boulevard.
While the Chick-fil-A will still be closed on Sundays, the seating and performance area will be open all week long, and the space will continue to host live music from Belmont students.
“It will always be a performance venue,” Chapman said.
Renovations for the cafe were initially planned for 2020, but COVID-19 forced a delay in construction.
And although the pandemic saw a change in how students interact on campus last year, that didn’t keep Chick-fil-A from being the most popular eatery on campus.
Mein Bowl and the grab-and-go sections of the cafe are being taken out after a student survey conducted by Sodexo revealed that Mein Bowl was the least popular food option on campus, said Chapman.
Mein Bowl had the lowest sales of all the dining options on Belmont’s campus, he said.
The data also revealed that What’s Bruin, the coffee and snack shop located inside the Beaman Student Life Center, is the campus’ second-lowest grossing eatery.
In response to this information, What’s Bruin will be replaced with an Einstein Bros. Bagels.
The survey revealed that students want bagels and health food options on campus, and the new Einstein Bros. location will provide students with both, Chapman said.
Renovations of both Curb Cafe and Einstein Bros. are underway and expected to be completed by the beginning of the fall semester.
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This article was written by Sarah Maninger. Photo by Sarah Maninger.