Five Easy Places
It’s been almost two weeks since you arrived back on campus. You’ve unpacked your boxes, reconnected with your friends, and finalized your class schedule. You’re slotting right back into your routine, when hunger sets in and suddenly you can’t rely on old habits — the restaurants have changed.
If you were out of town, you missed three months of eateries coming and going. J. P. Licks moved out of Hillel House, making way for Granby Street Café, and D’Angelo is no longer at the George Sherman Union, leaving room for Charles River Bread Co. Rhett’s and Einstein Bros. Bagels are slated to open in mid-October.
“Turnover on campus is usually the result of consistent decline in sales, as well as student feedback,” says Michelle Vitagliano, marketing director for Boston University Dining Services. “If we feel that a concept is no longer as popular with the students as it used to be, we will reach out to them and see what they want to bring to campus.”
One of the new arrivals, Rhett’s, will offer a good dose of school spirit along with burgers, grilled chicken, veggie burgers, and fries, as well as ice cream from a local farm. It will also feature a late-night menu.
But the action has not been limited to the GSU and Hillel. The Packard’s Corner section of Commonwealth Avenue has also seen some changes. McDonald’s is gone, and Choe’s Korean Restaurant will be replaced by Cold Stone Creamery later this fall. Across the T tracks, eco-friendly burger joint Grille Zone has already garnered excellent reviews since opening its doors in late May.
And starting this semester, students may use Dining and Convenience Points to order Papa John’s Pizza. Vitagliano says the partnership was arranged at the request of many students.
Click on the graphic above for a quick glance at what’s new — and what’s no longer — on Commonwealth Avenue.
Edward A. Brown can be reached at ebrown@bu.edu.