As we all know, the cafeteria went through renovations from last year into this past summer. The Grill has gone through its own renovation since last year as well. The Grill has been missing some key elements from its original venue. Certain snacks such as Snickers, Hersheys and Kit Kats, as well as brownies and cookies, were missing from The Grill. Not to mention the pizzeria has now been closed since last semester.

The question the first few weeks of this semester has been “what happened to The Grill?” Apparently there was a poll sent out about The Grill, asking for opinions, and the majority of the feedback was students wanting more healthy and vegan options. Now there are vegan options in The Grill, but the right way to make The Grill healthier was by taking out the not-so-good foods. With the lack of options at The Grill, it seemed as if the cafeteria may be the preferred option. I definitely preferred it during the three-week, which seemed crazy. I wanted to go to The Grill more and had been craving a Snickers or a brownie or something, but they just weren’t there. The cafeteria seemed like a better option for awhile until something happened recently.

That’s right, The Grill has brought back a good majority of the snacks that we all missed. Kit Kats, Snickers, cookies, brownies, gummy bears, they’re all back, and I for one couldn’t be happier. I tried asking some of the employees at The Grill, and I didn’t get a clear answer as to why they brought all of it back, but I sure was excited to see this change. 

The Grill itself still has its issues, such as the pizzeria being closed. It appears that they moved the pizza station into the cafeteria, but it’s disappointing to see nothing being done with that extra space in The Grill. I’ve heard the idea of having a sandwich station as a replacement, and I agree it would be perfect. Especially considering that the sandwich station is now gone from the cafeteria.

The Grill is certainly not bad. There’s vegan options, the snacks are back and I can see The Grill being more enjoyable. It’s a place where we go to enjoy a late night snack, and now that the snacks are back, I don’t think there will be too many issues with it. It’s especially helpful when you need food later at night and the cafeteria is closed. The Impossible Burger is pretty fantastic, and their options are versatile. The Grill plays good music most of the time, and there’s always something nice to watch on TV. I will admit, with the lack of snacks and extra items to get from The Grill, it was starting to get lackluster, but already in just a week it’s been able to satisfy my snacking needs. 

Editor’s note: This story originally was published in Volume 106, Issue 3 of The Guilfordian on Oct. 18, 2019.