Is the New Fly-By Taking Off?

It’s 1:06 p.m. and you are scrambling to class at the Science Center. You haven’t eaten since yesterday and are pretty sure you don’t have time to trek back to the Quad for a quick bite. Where do you turn? For many upperclassmen, the answer to that question is simple: Harvard’s Sanders Theatre.

Since the beginning of the school year, Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) has catered to students’ need for gustatory speed by transferring its popular “Fly-by” meal service from Loker Commons—currently under construction—to the foyer of Sanders Theatre.

But with its change in location, HUDS’ fast-paced food service faces criticism from upperclassmen. Although many say they still appreciate Fly-by’s convenient location, they dislike the locale’s lackluster ambiance and limited seating capacity.

Sometimes called a “mini-Annenberg,” Fly-by was a place where friends from distant Houses could catch up.

“Now all we have is floor, hard marble floor,” said Raymond L. Yu ’07, commenting on the dearth of tables and chairs in the Sanders lobby.

Despite students’ complaints, HUDS spokeswoman Crista Martin said that the number of students using the service has remained “virtually the same”—in the high 500s on busy days and in the 300s on slower days.

Once the remodeling of Loker Commons—where the new campus pub, Queen’s Head, is under construction—is complete, Fly-by will return to its old home under Annenberg.

According to Martin, the new Fly-by space has also been redesigned to shorten lines and speed up the process.