If you have been to the Hornet’s Nest this semester on the weekends, you may say it looks more like a convenience store than a snack bar or a cafe. That’s what it is aimed to look like; Hornet’s Nest no longer serves hot food made to order on weekends.
Due to COVID-19, more students and student-workers are going remote, including staff from the Hornet’s Nest. This is one of the reasons for the decision to go to a more simplified model on weekends. Currently, employees who only work in Steven’s Dining Hall are now taking on shifts at the Hornet’s Nest. These are often night shifts after they have worked the day in the dining hall. Without these extra shifts, students may lose even more accessibility to the Hornet’s Nest than what has already happened.
However, this is only temporary and it’s also changeable. Thomas Fondakowski, the Area General Manager of Sodexo Dining Services, and Kip Mayo, Manager of Sodexo Dining Services, are working on ways to have the convenience store serve premade hot food. “We are going to do a lot of those hot options packaged to go… We are going to still have all that hot food, just prepackaged, so the food is still there,” said Fondakowski. This means the food is ready to eat and students would just have to heat it up. By doing this, the Hornet’s Nest can still serve hot food but with a reduced staff on the weekends.
Another option that was suggested was to join the eco-ware program from Steven’s Dining Hall. The eco-ware program lets students pay to take food out of the dining hall. The suggestion is to do this instead of going to the Hornets Nest; it’s the same food but already paid for at the dining hall. With the dining hall now closing at 7 pm on weekends, Sodexo says there is plenty of time for students to grab food there.
Feature Photo by Quinlan Peer || The grill at the Hornet’s Nest is not in use on a weekend.