Quincy Dining Hall Gets Facelift

Students had rave reviews for the Quincy House Dining Hall, which opened for business yesterday after several million dollars worth of renovations this summer.

Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) moved the salad bar inside the serving area, opened the kitchen to make the chefs and food viewable, created detached island-like serving counters and instituted a policy of preparing smaller sizes to keep the food fresher.

The excitement was palpable among Quincy residents at dinner last night.

“I think the dining hall is amazing—it’s a veritable archipelago,” Benjamin R. Robbins ’06 said, describing the serving counters.

Robbins’ friend Jonathan A. Blazek ’06 was equally impressed, declaring that the new dining hall was “a magical place.”

Blazek found the food slightly better as well. “The carrot cake was exceptionally moist,” he said. “I had four pieces.”

Dining hall workers were also pleased with the changes. “The flow is better,” said Maureen Alves, a supervisor who has worked at Quincy for the past four years. “Students are in awe, they can’t believe it.”

The renovations, which began this summer, were also aimed at improving resource efficiency. The renovated dining hall uses far less water than before, according to Assistant Director of Residential Dining Robert Leandro.

HUDS plans more upcoming renovations, with the dining halls in Mather and Dunster slated for overhauls this summer.

One concern voiced among students was that the new renovations might mean larger crowds and longer lines, leading to dining restrictions. “I hope [the renovations] don’t change interhouse restrictions,” said Ryan D. Hughes ’06, “Quincy always took pride in no interhouse.”

Quincy House Master Robert P. Kirshner ’70, who was on hand to greet diners, said there were no plans currently to impose any restrictions but “we will have to see how it goes.”

Robbins was not worried about interhouse restrictions, declaring that “people will be coming from all over.” He also added about a nearby House notorious for interhouse restrictions, “Adams sucks.”

—Staff writer Jessica E. Schumer can be reached at schumer@fas.harvard.edu.