Q and A with Chatham University Dining Services
Classes have officially begun at Chatham, and there’s no denying it, Fall 2020 is shaping up to be a very different term than we’ve had before. Chatham has made several adjustments to our daily operations to ensure the health of students, faculty, and staff, from our academic delivery options to daily health screenings and more, but some of the most prominent changes are happening during meal times to ensure that everyone is dining safely. We chatted with General Manager Courtney Blood of Parkhurst about the changes being introduced, including more to-go options, satellite dining locations, and upcoming apps (that’s applications, not appetizers) to accommodate even more dining needs.
Q: What are some of the changes Parkhurst has implemented to make dining safer for the Shadyside campus community?
Courtney Blood: We have worked really hard this summer to come up with a safety plan while still providing dining options. Our guests, students and team members’ safety is at the forefront of our planning.
We have de-densified the dining room [in Anderson] to follow the current ACHD guidelines. We currently have seating for about 90 people – and it’s not permitted for seats or tables to be moved or added. Once we hit capacity, you will be asked to take the Pick 3 option (pre-packaged items that include a snack, side, entree, and beverage), so we can keep our population down and it is quicker than regular served to-go.
We are disinfecting high touch points on a more frequent basis, including tables and chairs. We’ve added a “Green = Go (Safe to sit), and Red = Stop (not disinfected yet)” to our tables, and ask that when you sit down to eat, you automatically turn to red so you don’t forget.
We’ve added a 30-minute shut down twice a day at each of our locations to allow our team members to do a deep clean all together at one time.
We’ve worked with the University to establish three satellite locations that will be available Monday thru Friday at lunch. This essentially will allow 200 people that would’ve been in Anderson to grab a meal somewhere else on campus.
Welker Room (11:15am - 12:45pm) – 50 Pick 3 Meals
Carriage House (11:30am - 1:00pm) – 50 Pick 3 Meals
The Grill at the Tent (11:30am - 1:00pm) – 100 Grill meals on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays; 100 Gourmet Salad Station meals on Tuesdays and Thursdays
We will also have Pick 3 meals available at Café Rachel & Anderson Dining Hall
At each station, you will be able to get an “all-in-one” meal (a composed meal with pre-chosen side options), to limit time in line. There will be no made-to-order Grill items or Deli items during heavy meal times (Lunch: 11:00am-2:00pm, Dinner 4:30pm-8:00pm). Limited Grill items will be available from 2:00pm-4:00pm & 8:00pm-10:00pm.
You will be permitted to use a second meal swipe at each meal, so you can dine in with us, swipe another time and get a to-go box or Pick-3 for later/your next meal. Only one to-go box is allowed per swipe.
Q: What will the new flow of lunch service look like in Anderson Dining Hall?
CB: We will have one way in and out of the servery and dining areas (look for the signage to direct you where to go). When you enter, you will have three lines to go to. We ask that you pick one and stay in that line. If you’d like something from the other line, you will need to completely exit Anderson and re-enter to enter that new line. We do ask that you visit one station per time in the dining hall. If you would like seconds, you will need to exit and re-enter to receive another plate of food.
One line is for Pizza/Pasta and Inspired Eats, our new Top 8 Allergen & Gluten Free prepared entrée & side. This will be on the right side.
One line is for the Hot Line – Vegan Entrees, Protein Entrees, and sides. This will be down the middle/left side or “Spoon & Fork side”.
The far left side is for our Pick 3 items – all prepackaged items for easy and quick grab and go – especially for when our dining room is at capacity. We will also feature items for your next meal for another meal swipe– i.e. you can grab a breakfast box at dinner for your next morning’s meal.
After the main lines, you can go right at the salad bar for the deli which will feature pre-made sandwiches, sides, and Turner Iced Tea Products. On the left, you will be able to get your beverages and exit to the dining room. On either side, you can get packaged salads.
Q: Can you describe the increased to-go options?
CB: Meal plan holders are permitted one to-go box per meal swipe, but can use two meal swipes per meal period, so you can get a meal for now, and then swipe again and get a to-go box or Pick 3 for later/your next meal. You can visit any line to get your meal with your box. If at any time Anderson is at capacity, we will ask you to take a Pick 3 meal (which is faster to get in and out of the dining hall than a traditional to-go meal), to allow for us to maintain our capacity and not go over. Our capacity numbers also have to permit for our staff. All of our Pick 3 items, with the exception of a beverage, are pre-packaged or wrapped for ease.
We’ve also added a contactless Grocery Service. Students are permitted to use two meal swipes per week on groceries, and can purchase a remaining balance with their FLEX. Pick-up locations will be in Anderson, and Café Rachel. This is also available at Eden Hall and Eastside. Check out our order form at chathamdining.catertrax.com. The offerings will be changing regularly and will eventually include Meal Kits and snacks, so check back often.
Q: What changes are being made to Eastside and Eden Hall Campus?
CB: Eastside’s flow is also one way in/one way out and their dining room has also been de-densified. They will also offer the Pick 3 program, as well as grocery pick up. All of their stations will be served, and their salad bar will have packaged salads. Their menus may be scaled down a bit for quicker service, but will mirror a lot of what is happening at Shadyside.
Eden Hall’s flow is much how it always has been. Their dining room has been de-densified and is only going to be used for dining. We will engage the barn for overflow seating as needed. Like Eastside, they will also offer the Pick 3 program, grocery pick-up, with all served stations, mirroring what is happening at Shadyside. Their menus may also be scaled down a bit for quicker service, especially on Tuesdays and Thursdays when we see an increase of students due to class schedules.
Q: How will service at Café Rachel change?
CB: Café Rachel is our biggest challenge. Because of the spacing, we are really limited not only on the amount of team members we have working, but also the amount of product we can provide. We will start out the semester with Café Rachel only having limited espresso drinks, bottled beverages, and Pick 3 meals. We will have 100 Pick 3 meals available at lunch, and are going to start with 50 at other times of the day. We do not have the space or any logical one-way flow to offer any snack items at this time.
For flow of service, you will choose your Pick 3 items from the coolers, and check out at the register in the corner. You can also order your espresso beverage from the register, and we will have it prepared to pick up at the end of the counter. You will exit the doors on the Braun, Falk, Coolidge side. There will be no seating inside Café Rachel due to the limited spacing and capacity.
Q: What health protocols are the dining staff observing?
CB: All of our team members have been through an enhanced safety training and have signed off on an acknowledgement regarding health awareness. They know to stay home if they feel sick.
Team members must always wear a mask, unless eating on their break
They do a self-health check at home prior to coming into work and receive a temperature check (which we log for the ACHD) when they arrive at work before starting their shifts
We have a Safety Ambassador on each shift, a team member who not only reminds our other team members of safety policies, but will also remind guests
We’ve always had a no-bare hand policy in our kitchens, but enhanced that by doing a mandatory glove change every 30 minutes
Q: What are some upcoming Changes students can look forward to?
CB: Coming soon, we'll have the GETFOOD app – a mobile ordering app where you will place an order on your phone for contactless pick-up at either Anderson or Café Rachel. We will be starting out with Parkhurst retail brands, Hello Bistro Express and Firehouse Grille. We will go live as soon as we receive implementation, but are hoping for middle September.
Students will also be able to reserve their dining times using an app called GET MOBILE. Right now, we will be tracking capacity at the register and will strongly encourage Pick 3 when we reach capacity, but in certain circumstances, will permit a regular to-go meal.
Also coming soon, we’ll be offering the ability for meal-plan holders to dine at other Eat’n Park Hospitality Group restaurants. We have partnered with some of our restaurants to permit the use of FLEX and Cougar Dollars. The restaurants identified for roll-out will be: Eat’n Park Squirrel Hill, Hello Bistro Oakland, and The Porch at Schenley – we hope to have an updated timeline on this option soon.
Q: What do you think is important for students to remember or know about the changes being made, and what’s the best way for students to stay up-to-date with dining changes?
CB: I think most important, that our plans are constantly changing. What may be right today, could be wrong tomorrow. We are open for constructive feedback to help us navigate changes. While we think our plan is a strong one, we know that there probably will be flaws, and we are prepared to change as needed to make dining work more smoothly for our team members and our guests.
We will send updates to Marketing and Communications to update the Fall 2020 Dining Page. You can also follow us on social media for updates as well, on Instagram @ChathamParkhurst and Facebook. Also, we will periodically send updates to Chatham.edu email addresses – normally the subject leads with “PARKHURST” so it hopefully stands out/doesn’t get lost.
Check out our other Fall 2020 changes at our website, which includes weekly updates to all facets of our COVID-19 prevention measures, and our Weekly Dashboard, which compiles several of the metrics that Chatham uses to inform our decision-making.