A new cafe boasting healthy options is adding to the hype over Heavener Hall.
Rising Roll will be open for business starting Jan. 6, in time for the start of the Spring semester.
The cafe will be on the first floor of the building, located on the corner of West University Avenue and Southwest 13th Street, where there is no on-campus eatery.
Brian Ray, associate dean and director of the Heavener School of Business, said the quality of food was important to the faculty, staff and students who chose Rising Roll from three other franchises.
“Rising Roll was far away the best choice among the students and staff,” Ray said.
Gator Dining Marketing program manager Jill Rodriguez said the menu will include gourmet sandwiches, wraps, soups and salads, as well as breakfast burritos and coffee.
“Other people have compared it to Panera Bread,” Rodriguez wrote in an email.
All of Rising Roll’s entrees are made from scratch, she said. There is no fried food, and no preservatives are added. There will also be vegan options and gluten-reduced wraps.
Most items range from $2 to $7.
Ray said students were looking for something on the healthier side.
Brandon Harris, a UF business administration junior, said he sampled Rising Roll’s menu at the Heavener Hall dedication ceremony Nov. 14. After catching a glimpse of it, Harris said the cafe will be an alternative to Chipotle and Firehouse Subs, the closest restaurants to the business college.
“I think the healthier options offered by Rising Roll are great,” the 20-year-old said. “Oftentimes, they taste better and you feel better after eating fresh food.”
Ray said the idea behind opening the restaurant was to provide a facility for students to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in between classes and organization meetings.
The cafe will be open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday.
“There’s really nothing exactly like this on campus right now,” Harris said. “I think it will be a wonderful addition.”
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 11/24/2014]
