Students at Wilfrid Laurier University will soon have a new option for eating on campus. In late April, the Bricker Academic building will welcome the addition of a Subway outlet, marking the first food location in the building.
Dan Dawson, assistant vice-president of student services, explained that the idea of opening a Subway at Laurier has been in consideration for at least the past two years.
“There was some discussion about converting the Mr. Sub in the Terrace to a Subway two years ago, and there was very strong, positive response from students for that brand,” he said. “As it turned out, that didn’t change, but it was always something that was in the back of our mind. Now that some people are kind of becoming aware that it is coming, there seems to be a positive buzz around the fact that Subway will be available.”
The opening of Subway will help students combat two main issues stemming from food services on campus: having more diverse eating choices and having a location to eat on the south-side of campus.
“The Science [Building] Tim Horton’s is by far our craziest line-up that we have. We’ve been trying to figure out ways to manage that,” explained Dawson. “We feel that by putting the Subway in the Bricker Academic Building, that will divert some of the food traffic and hopefully try to stabilize things. It’s an under serviced area of the campus, and probably one of the highest volume buildings as far as classroom instruction.”
Chris Walker, vice-president of university affairs at the Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union, echoed Dawson’s comments and further explained how placing a food outlet in the Bricker building will help with congestion issues. For him, having a location away from the central hub of campus — which houses both the dining hall and the Terrace — was an important decision that will hopefully benefit students.
“Right now we’ve got a Tim Horton’s available in other locations, but nothing really of substance. Tim Horton’s is more of a snack or a coffee, but bringing in a Subway in the Bricker Building will allow us to spread out the need,” he said.
Dawson also explained that the kiosk — which will be located in the main foyer of Bricker Academic —will hopefully alleviate the long wait times that student experience while getting food, especially during the busy lunch hours.
“We’ve known for some time that lunch is the busiest period, that’s where all our congestion is. We had recently done, in the fall, the dining-style survey through Aramark, and the results came back very strongly that students find a lot of congestion in that time frame,” Dawson continued.
This location, according to Walker, will not only benefit students who have class in the Bricker building, but also those that live close by, either in residence or in off-campus housing.
“Part of it is space,” he said. “We’ve identified a space in Bricker Academic that will work well for this. The other part is that Bricker Academic is close access not only to students in Science, but also a lot of off-campus students in that area, so it’s in a high-traffic area.”
Many students have already expressed excitement upon hearing that a Subway will be opening on campus.
When asked about his thoughts regarding the new location, Daniel Graziotto, a third-year student, said to The Cord: “Really? That’s crazy, and awesome.”
Graziotto also expressed that the new addition will greatly benefit students who have the majority of classes in the Bricker and Science buildings, as it can be bothersome to walk across campus to get lunch.