With its bright, deco-colored walls and overhauled menu, the newly renovated Summerfields dining facility finally opened its doors last Wednesday. In its first few days, lines of over forty people wrapped around the building as students waited in the cold to try the new dining option.

Students agreed that the new facility was a significant improvement from the old one, boasting a trendier décor, made-to-order food, and late-night dining. However, difficulties with service and the closing of the campus center caused many to be dissatisfied with the new facility, which had its grand reopening today.

“I like it much better now because there are more options,” said Kevin McDonald ’06. “Overall, I’d say it’s much better.”

“We’ve been waiting…all semester for a close place to eat,” said Sarah Faeth ’07, who lives in the Butterfield dormitories where Summerfields is located. Faeth also said that she liked the food much better than at MoCon.

Throughout the work week, the facility offers several entrees for lunch and dinner, which are categorized as earth, fire, water, and wind. “Earth” offers two entrees that are vegetarian or vegan, “fire” offers two meat options, “water” offers fish, and “wind” is soup and salad. The same entrees are offered all week, but they change each Monday.

“It’s Captain Planet-esque,” said Adam Rosenfeld ’06, referring to the children’s cartoon television show to describe the weekday menu.

All last Saturday and Sunday night, Summerfields used its late-night menu, made up of assorted snack foods like eggs, burgers, nachos, and black bean chili. A brunch meal was served on Sunday morning. Unlike the weekday schedule, the weekend schedule is not yet fixed.

The interior of Summerfields is brightly colored with an open kitchen in the center of the room. Students said they approved of the reclining chairs and unusually shaped napkin holders.

Dave Pazmino ’93, manager of Summerfields and former Butterfield resident, said that the last week has been “pretty crazy.”

“I think there’s a really good interest,” Pazmino said. “Students seem excited about coming here. I’ve had a lot of students who are really, really happy.”

Despite the good food reviews and new weekend hours, with the Campus Center now closed on weekends, many students have criticized Summerfields as an inadequate replacement.

“I just think it’s ridiculous that all the other dining options are closed,” said Emily Ansbacher ’06. Ansbacher and others said they were upset by the method for ordering food, the lack of healthy choices on the late-night menu and the inability to get a quick meal.

“I think what we don’t like is the fact that we are forced to come here,” said Ansbacher.

Jessica Arendal ’06 agreed. “I think the place is fine,” she said. “It’s what it has done to other places on campus that’s not fine.”

Director of Dining Services Tim Reiss said that closing the Campus Center on weekends is part of an effort to get students to use the newer, better equipped facilities on campus.

“The Campus Center is really a lunch space,” he said, noting that only two to three hundred students used it each weekend last semester. He said that Summerfields can handle these numbers and Weshop has a wide selection of snack food for students seeking a quick meal.

Pazmino said he is asking studentsto be patient when waiting for their meals because made-to-order food takes time. He said that lunch and dinner during the week has moved smoothly, but weekend service still needs work.

Reiss said that opening the first floor of the campus center or the Pi Café are possibilities if over time student feedback indicates that more options are needed.

“We’re going to let it ride its course for the time being,” he said.

Josh Friedman ’04 explained that he did not like the ordering system which during the weekend involves ordering and paying at the door, ripping off half the receipt to give to give to the cook and using the other half to claim your food.

“The way they have it set up is really hectic and inconvenient,” he said. “I don’t know why they decided to cut back on campus dining.”

Freshmen living in the Butterfields have also voiced complaints due to the fact that meals are not accepted on weekends.

Both Pazmino and Reiss have said that the weekend schedule is still preliminary and likely to change. They each said that they have been considering having a brunch that can be paid for in meals followed by the late-night dining for weekends. Pazmino and Reiss also said that new registers are being ordered to expedite the ordering process.

“They did poor planning,” said Sara Williams ’06. She added that Summerfields, which seats 120 people, had to close at 6 p.m. last Saturday night because it ran out of food.

“We were not anticipating the numbers we’ve had,” said Reiss explaining that he expects the number of students to decline over the next few weeks.

“We should be able to handle the volume that we’re getting,” he said.

In addition, Pazmino said that Summerfields needs more refrigeration space to store food in order to meet student demand.

“I’ve run out of food several times because I’ve run out of refrigerating space,” Pazmino said. “I can order food, but where can I put it?”Though Pazmino did not think he would get the extra refrigeration space, Reiss explained that Summerfields would get it if it continues to prove necessary.

Many students also complained about the lack of vegan and vegetarian options at Summerfields.

“They have no vegan food and they closed the vegan café,” said Mary London ’06 about the weekend menu. Another student pointed out that even the veggie burgers are not vegan.

“I understand that the vegan community is very vocal here, but I’m trying to create a balance,” said Pazmino. “I’m trying to be as balanced as possible. It’s not any way or another,” he said, noting that the “earth” menu option includes vegetarian and vegan food.

Both students and administrators said that they thought the new Summerfields was an improvement over the old one. The reception from students, however, was not as warm as had been expected due to unresolved problems with service and the weekend closing of the campus center.

“I feel like a lot of these problems are because it’s brand new,” said Eric Sullivan ’06. “The old Summerfields wasn’t as good as this.”

“Once we work though these initial bugs, then we are up and running,” said Pazmino.