The Gaddis Hunt Commons, the food court in the new Colvard Student Union, will have a larger variety of dining choices than before and accommodate students in new ways.
Colvard Student Union director Eddie Keith said the Gaddis Hunt Commons will be located on the right side of the first floor. It will have ATM machines, televisions and much more dining space than before.
Plans for the new food court show that circulation in that area will be greatly improved.
“In the past, it was always congested around meal times because the food court was added to the Union after it was already built,” Keith said. “We are building it from scratch this time, and will have more circulation.”
Plans for the first floor consist of a food court, cyber cafܬ and coffee shop, full-service bank, copy center, convenience store and possibly a hair salon.
The food court will house five dining establishments in the new Union instead of four, Keith said. These include Chik-Fil-A, a hamburger restaurant, a low-scale pizza/Italian eatery, a sandwich shop or a health food franchise and either a Mexican or Asian restaurant.
Each restaurant will be a quick service place with relatively low prices, Keith said.
“Each business will set its own working hours and days,” Keith said. “Any or all could be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Sophomore architecture major Charlotte Fairley said she would prefer a Chinese buffet over a Mexican establishment.
“There are already a lot of Mexican restaurants in Starkville,” Fairley said. “I think students would like to keep the Chinese restaurant in The Union.”
On the other hand, sophomore interior design major Laura Nichols said a Mexican restaurant would attract more students.
Nichols also said the retail area on the first floor will be a positive change.
“I think that it would be really good to have a copy center, convenience store and bank right on campus,” Nichols said. “Students’ lives will be easier because they can just walk to The Union to get what they need.”
Sophomore management of construction and land development major Brinton Fisackerly said he would like to see a breakfast place in the new Union.
“A place like Waffle House would get a lot of business, especially if it stayed open 24 hours a day,” Fisackerly said.
The main changes to The Union include more retail space and meeting rooms, different architecture and better circulation throughout the building because of more entrances, exits, stairwells and elevators.
Second-floor changes include an expanded ballroom, the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, meeting rooms and an art gallery off the main hallway.
Also included are a smaller lobby/lounge area and the Old Main Lounge, which displays historical MSU artifacts.
The third floor will consist of storage space and administrative offices for organizations such as CAB, Music Makers, Greek council, and the Student Association.
Office space will be made available to the 300 student organizations on campus by using “shared space,” Keith said.
“There will be 15 or 16 offices that an organization can reserve for an hour or two,” Keith said. “We’ll be able to accommodate many different groups this way.”
Gaddis Hunt, the food court’s namesake, served as the director of The Union at one time and is now retired, Keith said.
“He worked at MSU for about 40 years and has been really involved in dining services,” Keith said. “He has pretty much been here as long as The Union has been here.”
The week of Nov. 7, a link on the MSU website will be available with a virtual tour of the inside and outside of the new Union.