An increased variety of products, including Godfather’s Pizza and a made-to-order deli station, are part of the new East Side Market. The store, located in the Maple-Willow-Larch commons, opened Jan. 8.

The new store is an upgrade from the old MWL C-store that closed last May. A temporary store was established in August on the third floor of the MWL commons.

The store was completed on Dec. 1. The setup of the equipment and training of staff occurred from Dec. 1 to Jan. 7, said Mike Parsons, a construction manager with facilities planning and management who represented Iowa State during construction.

Miron Construction built the East Side Market along with 32 other subcontractors and suppliers.

“It used to be the MWL C-store, but it’s now the East Side Market, similar to the West Side Market over in the UDM,” said Kristi Patel, assistant director of campus dining services.

 The East Side Market is 1,800 square feet, twice the size of the old MWL C-store, Parsons said.

The expanded size of the East Side Market has made for a wider product selection. Compared to the old C-store, there are about one-and-a-half times more products in the East Side Market, said Shawn Jacobs, food service coordinator with campus dining services.

“Noticeably it’s much larger than the previous C-store was,” Patel said. “Because of that, we’re able to offer a larger selection for the customers.”

The larger product selection includes more flavors of two liter bottles of soda and 12 packs of canned soda. The enlarged freezers include Texas Toast and other new products being introduced.

“There’s quite a bit more of a variety of things,” said Andy Wetrich, freshman in elementary education. It was Wetrich’s first time coming to the new store and he utilized the new deli station.

The convenient location of the new store is a plus for Wetrich.

“I won’t have to walk over to Linden or Oak-Elm or anything like that to eat,” Wetrich said.

Perhaps the most noticeable product additions are the made-to-order deli station and Godfather’s Pizza, where students can buy whole pizzas or slices. Students may also call in to have pizzas made for them.

“Students, we hope, they will call us to order full pizzas ahead of time so we can have them ready for them,” Jacobs said. “They can use their Dining Dollars to purchase these.”

In addition to the expanded space and wider selection of products, students may also notice the decor of the new store. Marble countertops and wooden cabinets are an upgrade from the previous laminate accessories in the old C-store.

Jacobs expects business to pick up because of the new facilities.

“I think it will pick up a great deal because a lot of students did not even know the temporary store existed upstairs,” Jacobs said. “I think this is a plus for our students, especially introducing Godfather’s and just the brand new facilities itself. It’s cheery, it’s bright.”

Grand opening

The East Side Market will have its grand opening Jan. 20 to 23. Deals include one dollar off deli combo meals and free two-liter sodas with a whole Godfather’s Pizza purchase. Students can also enter to win a Playstation 3 or a $25 Dining Dollar gift card.