The Eatery @ Broward Hall reopened its doors to students and Gainesville residents Aug. 22, doubling the hall’s original size and reworking its entire menu after an eight-month expansion and renovation project.
With a $25 million budget, the project expanded the once 20,000-square-foot dining hall to about 39,000 square feet. The updates also include additional seating, increasing the hall’s original 550-person capacity to 750, and a back seating area with a ramp for wheelchair access.
Marc Cruz, the UF director of culinary, said before the expansion, all chefs cooked from one shared kitchen. The expansion added individual kitchens to each food station, making it easier to feed a large number of students, he said.
“It [the expansion] gives us the ability to actually function, to handle big volumes,” Cruz said.
Mueller said students can feel safe knowing allergens are kept in separate kitchens and storage areas. Delicious Without, a new addition to the dining hall, offers options like chickpeas, spinach and roasted tomatoes for students with allergies.
“The cool thing is, any student who goes over there [Delicious Without] can still get a great meal,” Mueller said.
The dining hall also added the digital sauce dispenser Heinz Remix, making UF the first school in the country to have the machine.
Addison Alsobrook, a 19-year-old UF data science and sports management sophomore, said the renovations changed his opinion on the Broward dining hall.
“I preferred Gator Corner over the original Broward,” he said. “I prefer it [The Eatery @ Broward Hall] over Gator Corner now.”
Courtland Thomas, the UF district marketing director, said the project aims to provide food options to people on and off campus, including families and UF alumni.
“One of the misconceptions about campus dining is that it’s only for students that live on campus or have a meal plan,” Thomas said. “This is going to be a cornerstone of the University of Florida for future gators to come.”
Thomas said the hall was designed to host frequent and special events for students. Students can expect to find a late-night pizza window by the hall’s Brick and Basil station in October, but its hours have not been announced yet.
“At the end of the day, [The Eatery @ Broward Hall] is where ‘love where you chomp’ really comes from,” Thomas said.
The Eatery @ Broward Hall is open Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and weekends, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. It plans to host a grand opening in September.
Entrance costs $9.30 for breakfast, $11.40 for lunch and $12.00 for dinner.
Contact Rachel Mish at rmisch@alligator.org. Follow her on X @mish_rache62827.
Rachel Mish is a junior English and business major and the Fall 2024 Food Reporter for The Avenue. In her free time, she enjoys playing pick-up basketball or sewing a gameday outfit.
