Throughout the Fall 2020 semester, FAU has closed six of the usual dining options available to students and faculty – including Einstein Bagels, Pollo Tropical, Jow Jing, Pizza Hut, Wendy’s, and Dunkin’. 

According to FAU Spokesperson Brittany Sylvestri, the reason why these dining options are closed is that “there are not enough students on campus to sustain most of the dining options remaining open.”

For now, students are left with Subway, Starbucks, Chick-Fil-A, and the Atlantic Dining Hall as their only on-campus food options.

Pollo Tropical, which was replaced with Atlantic Dining Hall Express at the beginning of the semester, will return to the Breezeway food court when there are enough students on campus to support it, according to Sylvestri.

FAU Dining’s current construction projects, including the Panda Express that was going in the Breezeway food court, have been put on hold.

“Since we are experiencing a tremendous shortfall in revenue, most of the construction projects are currently on hold,” Sylvestri said.

Sylvestri states that these dining options re-opening in the spring are “TBD.”

“It all depends on a possible increase in the number of students to sustain the opening,” Sylvestri said.

With some of FAU’s cheaper dining options being closed, FAU students who live on campus or attend classes on campus are now left with fewer budget-conscious options.

“The Dunkin’ Donuts shutting down was a huge bummer,” Jonathan Gloria, a graduate student who attends the Davie Campus said. “The coffee prices at Dunkin’ are less expensive than Starbucks.”

Students are also left with limited options for food on campus, leaving them to eat the same food items every day.

“It’s just basically the same thing every day,” Michael Burch, a junior business student said. “You have to get used to it since they force you to buy meal plans.” Students are required to buy meal plans if they live in Indian River Towers, Heritage Park Towers, Glades Park Towers, and Parliament Hall.

Burch also states that the quality of food that has been offered at the dining hall has been poor, leaving him with no choice but to settle for the same food options.

The Atlantic Dining Hall hasn’t made any changes, with all of those same options remaining from previous years, but Burch was never a fan of the quality of food they offered.

“It’s pretty trash six days a week,” Burch said. “Maybe you get lucky one of those days, but most of the time it’s just pizza, mediocre burgers, or a sub.”

According to The Atlantic Dining Hall’s menu, the cafeteria also offers a salad bar, vegan options, a pasta bar, as well as a section that rotates entrees daily- but Burch wasn’t as interested in those.

Colby Guy is the Features Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @thatguycolbs.