OBU Hosts Ribbon Cutting for New Cafe on the Hill Campus Dining

OBU celebrated the official grand opening of its new Cafe on the Hill Tuesday, Aug. 19, at 11:15 a.m. with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The dining space is on the second floor of the Geiger Center, the hub of activity on OBU's Shawnee campus.

Pictured, left to right: Representative Justin Wood; Senator Ron Sharp; Chartwells Regional Vice President Larry Orr; OBU Student Government Association President Cody Moser; OBU President Dr. David Whitlock; Randy Smith, OBU executive vice president for business and administrative services; Renee Lingo of Lingo Construction; and Larry Johnston, CEO of CJC Architects.

Over the summer, "Cafe on the Hill" was constructed by completely remodeling and renovating the former Laura Scales Dining Room along with expanding into an additional room. The new space features a restaurant-like atmosphere, interactive cooked-to-order meal stations, and self-serve food platforms. Dining options include a brick oven pizza station, Mongolian barbecue, salad bar and much more.

The renovation and construction was made possible by OBU's contract with Chartwells Division of the Compass Group to manage food services on Bison Hill. The agreement was reached in August 2013 and included provisions for Chartwells to invest over $2.3 million into food service facilities at OBU. Previous improvements include the addition of a Chick-fil-A Express, Starbucks, a new convenience store in the GC, new furniture and flooring in the GC and food service trucks for athletics events.

Randy Smith, executive vice president for business and administrative services, welcomed guests. Brandon Skaggs, dean of students, offered remarks about the impact on student life, while Dr. David Whitlock, OBU president, expressed the university's gratitude and excitement for the new dining facility. Guests participating in the ribbon cutting included Representative Justin Wood, Senator Ron Sharp, Chartwells Regional Vice President Larry Orr, OBU Student Government Association President Cody Moser, Renee Lingo of Lingo Construction and Larry Johnston, CEO of CJC Architects.