This story has been updated with opening dates for Goodbody Hall.
A Bloomington staple, Nick’s English Hut, will join the list of on-campus dining options when Goodbody Hall opens in Wells Quad this month.
“When you went into the dining hall when I was in school, you got what was there and that was it,” Tom Morrison, vice president of IU facilities, said.
Goodbody will open Sept. 18, according to an email sent to Wells Quad residents. There will also be a grand opening Oct. 2, RPS director Rahul Shrivastav said.
Nick’s – along with Chocolate Moose, The Traveler and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf – will provide convenient dining for students living in the new Wells Quad, as well as those who have classes in nearby academic buildings, such as Ballantine Hall.
Morrison said construction is not behind what was planned and that the project was not expected to be done as soon as the academic year began like the residence hall was.
“It was designed that way,” Morrison said.
Morrison said that while he knows the delayed opening is inconvenient for the students who are currently living in the new dorm, he thinks that having it done by winter will be worth the wait because it would save them long walks in the cold.
Of the four new concepts being put into Goodbody, Nick’s is the only one entirely new to the campus dining experience.
Part-owner Susan Bright said the Nick’s in Goodbody will be very similar to the restaurant on Kirkwood, offering the same recipes of stromboli, burgers, pizza, salads and french fries.
“Nick’s has been a part of IU since 1927, so this match on campus is really exciting,” Bright said.
Goodbody Hall gets the first taste of something that Nick’s doesn’t yet offer in the main restaurant — Nick’s will serve breakfast for the first time.
This breakfast option will include Nick’s breakfast wraps, breakfast pizza, frittatas and an original recipe of home fries.
The Goodbody Nick’s will be priced the same on campus as it is on Kirkwood. The difference lies in that the Nick’s in Goodbody will accept meal points, as will the other three concepts.
The features of Goodbody go deeper than food choices. Morrison said the exterior architecture of the new building, in both the use of limestone and the way in it is constructed architecturally, was meant to blend well with that of Memorial Hall, the renovated building.
“In time, people will not be able to tell what’s old and what’s new,” Morrison said, “Trying to match that was important.”
Goodbody will have fewer options than dining halls in Wright or Forest, but will include a patio on the roof which will allow patrons to take in the scenery and good weather while they eat.
As far as the students who work in the dining hall, sophomore Rebekah Gerbick, Wells Quad resident and Goodbody employee, said students who got the job were given the option to work at the Bookmarket Eatery in Wells Library while they waited for the new hall to open, but she opted to take this week off.
“Being in a new location, it’s nice being able to explore the area during the time when I would be working,” Gerbick said.
The only problem Gerbick has encountered regarding Goodbody Hall’s delayed opening stems from being a resident of Wells Quad.
“The only issue that’s come with it is that there’s no food that’s really close,” Gerbick said.
However, the opening is coming soon, and Gerbick said she is feeling the excitement of it all.
“I haven’t been in Goodbody at all, so I look forward to seeing it all come together,” Gerbick said.
