As featured in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, October 20, 2015

Freshman Anthony Lynes likes Montana State University’s new, improved Miller Dining Hall so much, he skips the cafeteria closest to his Langford Hall dorm room walks across campus to take his meals.

“I think it’s the best place to eat on campus,” the 18-year-old engineering student from Great Falls said Tuesday as he sat down to a breakfast of scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage and two pieces of French toast.

“It’s got the most variety,” Lynes said. “It’s definitely worth the extra walk.”

MSU spent $15 million and worked more than two years to redesign and reconstruct Miller Dining Hall.

The largest dining hall on campus, Miller serves at least 7,000 students a day. Construction finished right before fall classes started.

“I love it,” said Erin Hurd, 18, a freshman from Denver. “I think it’s a cool atmosphere and modern inside. I visited (campus) when it was not remodeled. It was kind of gloomy. This is upbeat.”

Miller, set between the North and South Hedges high-rise dorms, was built in the mid-1960s. It used to have a more “institutional” feel, with hot dish lines and stream trays, said Tom Stump, director of auxiliary services.

Now it looks like a food court, with contemporary lighting and décor and food stations offering students “almost unlimited” choices, Stump said during a tour Tuesday for reporters. Cooks make everything, like made-to-order omelets, right in front of students.

MSU staff visited dorms and dining halls from Colorado to Georgia and Michigan, and saw colleges everywhere are getting away from institutional cafeterias.

Now MSU students can choose Toscana, which makes pizza in a stone-hearth oven. Indulge bakes cookies daily. The Nook breakfast bar offers a waffle-making station. At Crossroads there are gluten-free, vegan and allergy-free options, like almond milk.

The Route 406 deli is decorated with Montana license plates, like “LUVU MT” and “SKI WEE.” Nearby is the Froth and Foam espresso bar.

There’s a wok bar, soup and salad bar and Mexican offerings. Three-dozen chickens can be seen roasting away on a big rotisserie.

The Mongolian grill is extremely popular, said Todd Jutila, director of food services. Students pick out the vegetables, meats and sauces, which are cooked while they watch.

Martin Lewis, MSU’s executive chef, with a degree from the Culinary Institute of America, was tossing pizza dough in the air. The first day of classes, Lewis said, the staff made 600 hand-tossed pizzas.

Before, Lewis said, cooks were hidden away in back kitchens. Now students can see people making their food.

“They’ll actually thank us for our hard work,” he said.

The only down side seemed to be a shortage of counter space for the busy cooks, who jostled for room to set their trays and ingredients.

A lot of the $15 million went into building upgrades that students can’t see — like removing asbestos tile and upgrading the heating, ventilation and electrical systems. Old walls were torn out, exposing attractive wooden ceiling beams. It’s good stewardship of an older building, Stump said.

The seating area was enlarged to the southwest, adding bigger windows, a fireplace and living room-style sofas and chairs.

“I’m very proud,” he said. “We took a 50-year-old building, and it’s set for the next 50 years.”

“No student tuition, no state funds” are paying for the project, Stump said. The 30-year bond debt will be paid for out of what are essentially profits from room and board fees. Students’ charges weren’t increased to pay for the project, he said.

The biggest challenge was serving thousands of students a day while construction crews demolished and rebuilt the dining hall section by section. Nelson Architects of Great Falls and Valier-based Swank Construction were in charge of the design and reconstruction.

Miller now features more locally produced food than ever before. Jutila said last year MSU purchased a little over $1 million worth of local food, nearly 20 percent of food purchases.

That includes vegetables from the Gallatin Valley’s Root Cellar Foods, beer-washed cheese from Vintage Cheese of Four Corners, meats from the Lazy SR Ranch of Wilsall, and safflower oil from the Oil Barn of Big Sandy.

Mike Kosevich, dining halls general manager, said Wilcoxson’s Ice Cream of Livingston created a new flavor for MSU, Bobcat Batter, made with cake dough and blue frosting. Tumblewood Teas of Big Timber created Blue and Gold Sunrise tea.

“I love it, it’s beautiful,” said Sue Craver, a cook supervisor who has worked at Miller for 15 years. “This is a nice change.”

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