The year-long renovation of the Oak-Elm dining center came to completion this month, and the newly named Conversations is now serving some of Iowa State’s most unique cuisine.

Conversations provides many new features for residents, including a coffee bar, New York-style deli, hard-pack Blue Bunny ice cream stand and continuous service, from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays.

The fact that Conversations is smaller than the other residential dining centers is apparent as one descends the staircase that serves as its entrance. What the dining center lacks in size, it makes up for in the quality of the food it produces, said Nancy Levandowski, director of ISU Dining.

“We’re really talking about Conversations being about quality and our other operations being about variety, so if students are looking for a lot of different things to eat then they should go to Union Drive Marketplace or go to Seasons Marketplace,” Levandowski said. “But if what they’re looking for is something a little more focused and quality, something a little more unique, our chef [Everett Phillips] has really taken the time with Mary Ellen Metzger to create a menu that will be a lot of fun for the students.”

Students that have visited Conversations have found many endearing qualities within the newly renovated dining center. Adam Peters, junior in management, has enjoyed his visits so much that he now considers Conversations his favorite dining center.

“The UDCC and Seasons are always packed, and [Conversations] doesn’t have as many people,” Peters said. “It’s close to my dorm and the food’s better than the other dining centers on campus.”

Matthew Beyer, sophomore in aerospace engineering, has also enjoyed his experiences at Conversations and plans to return as long as it doesn’t get too popular among students.

“It’s good food,” Beyer said. “So far it’s been better than other dining centers. I’ll [continue to] come as long as it doesn’t get crowded, but I feel like as more students get here it’ll become more of a hassle.”

Along with Conversations’ renovations, ISU Dining revamped its other dining operations across campus as well. Hawthorne Market received new flooring and added online ordering for students, similar to that added last year at Clyde’s Sports Club. Union Drive Marketplace also received new flooring, added a fresh squeezed orange juice machine, available everyday at breakfast, and now provides continuous service between lunch and dinner.

“[The first day we were open] we had 64 people [come in] in those in between hours, so we were excited,” Levandowski said. “It means we’re not doing it for nothing, which is great. It means we’re taking care of folks.”

Another major difference to ISU Dining this year is their addition of a to-go option for students, which allows them to use their meal plans at dining centers and provides them 10 minutes to fill up one of the official ISU Dining to-go containers, which can be purchased with a one-time fee of $6.

Once the to-go meals are eaten, the containers should be returned to a dining center, preferably without any food in them, where it will be washed and students can take a different, clean container.

Residents also received a free official ISU Dining mug which is the only container that can be filled in and taken from the dining centers.

Changes within the dining centers are all focused toward making students’ dining experience more enjoyable and making them feel that there is more value in their dining program.