Mein Bowl — the latest eatery to neighbor Chick-fil-A in the Curb Cafe — opened Friday after student surveys favored an Asian restaurant on campus.
The eatery features Asian street and market foods “fused by Chef Mia Pham into appetizing daily express entrees and fresh ingredients that you can combine to suit your taste,” according to the Belmont Sodexo website.
Mein Bowl was featured in the Curb Cafe in 2014, but closed to make space for the express version of Chick-fil-A. Since the closure of Mein Bowl, its parent company has revamped their recipes and this led to Belmont’s decision to give them another shot, said Director of Dining Services Kyle Grover.
“As we try to stay with the trends, I think it’s important that we keep moving forward,” said Grover. “I think every time you change a brand, it brings life back to the campus.”
The restaurant will be open from 11 p.m. to 8 p.m. every day of the week, including Sundays.
The process of choosing Mein Bowl began about a year ago after Belmont Dining Services conducted a set of student surveys and focus groups to gauge what dining choices students wanted to see on campus.
Students’ first and second choices consistently trended toward an Asian eatery.
In the spring semester, Dining Services hosted a tasting in the Curb Cafe, which was very well received by students, said Grover.
Dining Services is planning on starting up more student surveys and focus groups in the fall, and Grover emphasizes the need for student involvement in these surveys.
“This is your campus, so we should be doing the things you want done,” said Grover. “We’re excited, and we hope everyone tries it and gives us our feedback, because feedback is what we rely on for our success and the things we need to improve.”
“We actually do read it.”
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Photos courtesy of Dining Services