After twelve years, the food court’s popular Rice Garden restaurant is looking for a replacement, in the meantime, The Spot is serving up.
Along with the on-campus location, the Rice Garden closed its Los Angeles, Alhambra, Pomona, and Long Beach locations leaving only a disconnected corporate phone number and a defunct website.
“Rice Garden was not closed down by the campus,” Executive Chef and Food Service Director Daniel Keenan stated, “They, as a corporate entity, decided to close their business and move on. In the food service business, often concepts open and close, this was the case with the Rice Garden,” he added.
While the school is still finding a permanent food source to takeover, The Spot, run by Golden Eagle Hospitality, is temporarily operating in its place for the remainder of the 2019 fall semester. “It will be a combination of our hot buffet catering style food on one side and build your own Healthy salad bar on the other side,” said Keenan.
In mid September of this year, the university will provide a campus-wide survey to collect feedback on what food options students would like to see on campus.
Students like Kimberly Surio, Sociology major is excited to provide input on ways the campus food can improve. “I don’t like feeling sluggish, especially when I am at school. The school [should] provide less fried food and start offering comparable plant based food options, or simply add vending machines with healthier snack options,” Surio added.
The university will be partnering with the LA County Public Health Department to design the survey for students in hopes of seeking out student’s opinion on food resources on campus.
