New multi-story dining common opens at Tulane University

Tulane University Dining Services is gearing up for the milestone grand opening of the Commons, a new three-story, 77,000 square-foot facility.

Opening in August 2019, the Dining Room at the Commons is Tulane’s new state-of-the-art dining facility, which occupies two floors of the building and offers multiple dining platforms, a rotating menu of local and international cuisine, and the Chef’s Table demonstration kitchen.

In addition, the Commons brings together all of the operations and staff of the Newcomb Institute, which educates undergraduates for women’s leadership in the 21st century, under a single roof at the center of campus life.

For years, the university studied its residential dining needs and identified the evolving needs of campus dining, benchmarked peer institutions’ meal plans, and evaluated opportunities to address the demands of a growing residential student population.

The site of the Commons, adjacent to the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life, was identified as the ideal place to transform Tulane’s middle campus into an important center for student life.

With more than 1,000 seats for eating, studying, and conversation, the Dining Room at the Commons is designed to foster community and build relationships.

With multiple dining destinations, the Commons resembles a restaurant, a coffee shop, or a food court, depending on where students choose to sit. The innovative architecture follows the latest trends about the way that food and community are intertwined.

The food at the Commons is fresh and healthy, offering significant variety like a marketplace. Tulane Dining Services has created menus designed to accommodate the needs of all diners.

Vegan and vegetarian options are available at every station throughout the dining room. The platform Simplified offers meals free of common allergens: milk, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, eggs, or gluten.

When dinner service ends, the dining room will stay open to provide late night student engagement and study space until 2:00am. The Commons is also home to Provisions on the Thirtieth Parallel, a market offering snacks, beverages, and to-go meals.

Featured concepts include:

Carved: Offers regional and international flavors and a comfort rotisserie and deli. Options include smoked proteins, grilled vegetables, and steamed starches.

Crafted: Serves assorted deli meats, cheeses, chicken salad, tuna salad, breads, and customizable fillings, toppings, and sauces. There will also be fresh sides including hand-fruit, cut fresh fruit, pretzels, kettle chips, grain salads, pasta salads, marinated veggies, etc.

Garden: Features breakfast, lunch, and dinner offerings such as fresh fruit, fresh greens, roasted vegetables, and plant-based proteins.

Grilled: Offers various protein options including hamburgers, grilled cheeses, chicken sandwiches, vegan burgers, and quesadillas.

Hearth: Features comfort options such as mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, and sautéed vegetables.

Simmered: Offers daily house-made soups.

Simplified: Provides safe and delicious food for diners with food allergies, intolerances, or other special dietary needs. Simplified offers freshly-prepared proteins, vegetables, and carbohydrates made without milk, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, eggs, or gluten.

Chef’s Table: An interactive station set up to serve local, regional, and international menus. The Chef’s Table will also feature cooking demonstrations from visiting guest chefs.

Sliced: Offers a variety of daily pizzas.

Al Dente: Features different pasta options.

“Eating together reminds us of our shared humanity,” said Patrick Norton, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Tulane University. “It builds relationships, strengthens bonds, mentally nourishes us, and serves up memories for a lifetime. That’s what the Commons is all about – fostering intellectual and interpersonal community at Tulane.”

For more information about Tulane Dining, visit https://diningservices.tulane.edu/