Students stand in line during lunch hour at the many restaurant options on campus, the academic school year continues and businesses resume operation.
Computer science transfer student, Eiffel Valentino is on campus for the first time exploring his food options, choosing between the Halal Shop and Quickly. It is his first semester on campus and looks forward to his future dining options.
“These are really good choices,” said Valentino. “Especially Quickly, I have known Quickly for a while and I know them pretty well, I also went inside and they have a lot of food options, I gotta say.”
Computer science major and Halal Shop employee, Jeel Kankotiya works through the lunch rush and mentions how many students stopped by for a bite after a month of closure.
“It was pretty busy around 12,” Kankotiya said. “The food here, people on campus love it, so it is the first day everybody is just trying to get their hands on food.”
Omar Mizirawi, owner of Cafe 101 and Natural Sensations in the Cesar Chavez Student Center mentions his struggle with foot traffic to his shops.
“There are not as many students as there were pre-covid, but it is definitely coming back in small percentages,” said Mizirawi.
Mizairawi has been working on his social media presence, as well as introducing partnered food delivery services, but still sees a decline in his businesses.
Iris Gilsdorf, an apparel design and merchandising major, sits in front of Natural Sensations enjoying her bagel. It is her third semester on campus.
Gilsdorf typically enjoys eating her food by the student health center in the grass where the sunlight hits. She believes the locations and the variety of the food could be dispersed around campus.
“I think [the selection] is pretty good, I think they could be more spread out throughout campus,” Gilsdorf said. “I like this kind of eating, you can choose and get stuff from different places”.
