Renovated Cranberry's

A Rider friendly atmosphere will greet students, faculty and staff as they enter the completely renovated Cranberry Café, now known as Cranberry’s, for the first time in the Bart Luedeke Center.

The renovation work took place this summer and features expanded seating, convenient food stations, wireless access, a big screen television and other amenities. A ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on Cranberry Day, Thursday, September 7.

Thayer Lounge

In addition, there was also major renovation work this summer on Thayer Lounge and the Dining Commons in the William H. Scheide Student Center on the Westminster campus. Thayer Lounge received new ceilings, lighting, carpeting and paint, and the Dining Commons was retrofitted with new lighting and ceilings.

Jan Friedman-Krupnick, assistant vice president for student affairs, noted Cranberry’s will feature three new food stations – The Charbroiled Grill with standard grill and Southwestern cuisine; a Brick Oven Pizza and pasta-to-order station, and a deli area modeled after the Panera Bread and Salad Works eateries. Also featured are home baked breads and desserts as well as Starbuck’s expresso drinks. An expanded grab and go area will provide quick to-go meals.

Friedman-Krupnick also said members of the campus community are invited to visit the new facility on Wednesday, August 30, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. for free samples of the exciting new menu.

Phil Voorhees, assistant vice president for facilities management, pointed out the increased seating. “We took what was once known as the Nook and Cranny or the overflow room between the main snack bar and the Pub and converted it into an area which gives us more seating,” he said. “We have also incorporated a wing of elevated booths as part of an attractive seating pattern.”

Voorhees said that with the new configuration of the snack bar, the Pub can now serve food because there is a back path to the kitchen. He also noted that Cathy Carter-Romero, director of publications, is working on creating a mural of Rider images for the new snack bar.

Behind the scenes, there was also considerable infrastructure work done to the facility. This work included all new exhaust systems, new electrical systems and underground piping.

“I want to acknowledge the architectural firm of Spillman Farmer who developed this wonderful design,” Voorhees added. “They were very creative and user friendly in their design. I also want to compliment B.J. Scozzari, the builders. Greg Scozzari, one of the partners, stayed personally involved and attended all the weekly meetings. Both Spillman Farmer and B.J. Scozzari helped make this project a success.”

Dining Commons

At Westminster, the bathroom renovations on the third floor of Seabrook Hall are complete. Highlights include installation of shower and toilet partitions and one-piece Corian sinks. There was also the installation of new shower bases and drains.