Walking into the dining room at the start of school this September after being away for two months, diners encountered a complete transformation. The space where students go to have lunch and spend free periods has undergone significant upgrades.

The plan and design for the new dining room started in February. Representatives from the Upper and Middle School, Hackley residents, and Flik food services provided input and feedback on the design. They also hired an outside consultant to make the final decisions on the selection of the furniture. The new renovation took place in August.

There were two purposes of the new lunch room: to increase the number of seats and to improve the flow of the lunch lines. The new seating aimed to replace the old sticky tables and gave a fresh look to the dining room. Improving the flow of the lines included moving the pasta bar alongside the salad bar. Along with the tables being redesigned, the floors were also redone.

One of the most eye-catching differences is the addition of restaurant-style booths. The booths offer comfortable seating for students to eat lunch and do their work. This is a big shift from the previous arrangement of round tables and hard wooden chairs, offering more variety and options for seating.

In addition to the new booths, there has been a change in the seating arrangements. Now, students have more flexibility when choosing where they sit. Some tables can accommodate groups of up to eight people and smaller tables for two people are also available.

“People like being able to choose whether to sit at a table of four or ten people,” said Robert Aldrich, the Director of Operations and Campus Planning, who was in charge of the renovations.

On the whole, students seem to like the changes, though they think there is still some room for improvement.

“I like the new booths, but I feel like there isn’t enough space,” said junior Wyatt Belleville.

While the booths are more comfortable, the overall seating capacity has increased compared to the bigger round tables. Even though it feels like there is less seating, according to Mr. Aldrich, the new renovation was intended to increase the seating, creating 25 more seats in the lunchroom.
Freshman Emelia Pieri is one of the students affected by the feeling of limited seating. “I don’t like the new layout. There are not enough tables,” she said.

Another important change to the dining room is the updated and relocated salad bar. The widened selection of toppings at the salad bar and the addition of panini presses have allowed more students and faculty to make sandwiches at the same time.

While some like the new salad bar, others think it’s an inefficient use of space.

“The new salad bar takes up a lot of space that could be used for more seating,” said senior Donia Karandikar.

In addition to the seating, the dining room adds some more aesthetic updates. Above the panini presses is a huge Hackley logo, providing a sense of connection to the community.

Another popular addition to the dining room has been the new frozen yogurt machine which offers chocolate, vanilla, and a swirl every Thursday.

“The new fro-yo machine is much better than last year. I like the new chocolate vanilla swirl,” said junior Julia Feehan.

To cap off the new dining room, a new digital display shows recaps from last year and sports photos, capturing old events and spirit.

The new updated dining room sparked different opinions and reactions from the upper school body. Some students appreciate the more comfortable booths and updated food options, while others express concerns about the limited seating and crowded conditions during lunch.

Mr. Aldrich is proud of the completion and result of the new dining room. “This setup gives people a lot more flexibility and options, in terms of who they want to sit with and where, and providing choices is a good thing,” he said.