News aggregator

Nawaal Nackerdien/ Fourth Estate

BY SAM DOUGLAS, STAFF WRITER

The Eaterie is Mason’s latest food hub, becoming the second newest food option to open on campus this fall semester. Located next to Chick-Fil-A on the ground floor of the SUB 1 building, the new dining option takes over a vacancy left by the Rathskeller in 2019. 

Tentatively scheduled to open in October, there will be seven differently themed stations with a variety of foods for students to try. The Eaterie plans to have certain items that are free once a day for specific meal plans. After the dining option opens, students can order ahead in the Starship app. Starship’s robot delivery service will not be available as soon as The Eaterie opens, but is planned to be available in the future. 

For students looking for traditional meals such as pizza and sandwiches, they can visit the “Doughlicious” and “Subs & Such” stations. The station “Without Boundations” spotlights food from around the globe. “Dress it Up” and “Sips” are the salad bar and drink stations, respectively.  Even “Grab N Go” will move to become a permanent station in the Eaterie. Additionally, vegetarian options can be found at each station. 

Also featured as one of the seven stations is “The Mason Mensch,” the first kosher-certified kitchen in Northern Virginia, according to Mason Dining Marketing Director Sofya Vetrova. Originating from a small kosher cart in the Southside dining hall last year, The Mason Mensch has a sealed off kitchen to ensure no cross-contamination and will be supervised by a mashgiach to ensure the food follows the rules of orthodox Jewish cleanliness.

When deciding the dining options on campus, students heavily influence Mason Dining through conducted surveys. The most common feedback Mason Dining receives is requests for more plant-based options on campus. This led to the opening of a completely vegetarian dining hall, The Spot, as well as two vegan restaurants, NuVegan and Sweet Vegan.

The Eaterie takes pride in its environmental sustainability. The dining option will utilize Reuse Pass and partner with the company Topanga to become the first food spot on campus to offer reusable containers.

“It really comes from the student voice,” Vetrova said. “They are the ones who are telling us what is trending… then we investigate and see if there is a right spot for it.”