New dining options begin after Thanksgiving break
The Marketplace at Erie, one of two all-you-can-eat dining halls at SUNY Fredonia, will close Friday evening, Nov. 16, and won’t re-open until next spring, but diners are invited to visit Cranston Marché, which will begin serving on weekends when classes resume following the Thanksgiving break, as well as other FSA-operated food outlets.
The closing is a necessary part of a two-phase campaign to replace the university’s aging central boiler system with individual satellite boilers at most buildings, including Erie.
Beginning Monday, Nov. 26, operating hours at the Cranston Marché will expand to include Friday dinner, 4 to 7:30 p.m., as well as brunch, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and dinner, 4 to 6:30 p.m., on Saturday and Sunday. Weekday hours remain unchanged. Regular patrons of Erie needn’t worry that many of their favorite foods will be missing from their plates.
“Some of the menu items from Erie will be featured at other locations,” said FSA Executive Director Charles Notaro, such as new organic selections, along with the Friday’s featured menu favorite. “We are adjusting some of the menus at marché to accommodate the additional crowds.”
FSA has monitored patron levels at marché and suggests that diners may experience “crunch time” -- when waiting in line may reach 15 minutes -- at noon as well as 1, 5 and 6 p.m. “I think if they go15 minutes either side (of the hour), especially on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, they may be okay,” Mr. Notaro indicated. Information for all FSA food outlets is available at fsa.fredonia.edu.
Fewer than 700 meals are served each day at Erie, Mr. Notaro said, far below the 1,800 at Cranston Marché and over 3,000 in the Connections Food Court.
Students, faculty and staff may patronize the Connections Food Court, located in the lower level of the Williams Center, as well as four Signature Café locations and Starbucks at University Commons. Workers at Erie were offered employment at other FSA facilities.
The Erie boiler project includes removal of the old boiler system, which was fed by a central plant, and installation of a new, stand-alone system, along with some new flues.
A temporary shutdown of Erie was unavoidable, university officials said, because the Williams Center looms as the next facility that will have to be closed so new boilers can also be installed. FSA is hopeful that Erie can re-open sometime in April, Mr. Notaro said. “We want to make sure Erie is up and functioning before the Williams Center closes,” he said.
“Now is the best time to close Erie to allow the contractor to do all the work in the building and have it reopened in April, just in time for summer events, because the Williams Center will close the first Monday after Commencement and reopen in August,” said Markus Kessler, director of facilities planning. “We didn’t want to have them both (Erie and Williams Center) closed down at the same time,” he added.
Erie’s temporary closing is reminiscent of the two years that marché did not operate while University Commons was under construction.
