With the closure of Clyde’s, Iowa State has taken its first steps to renovate the university into a better place to eat for students, staff and all other visitors.

Toward the beginning of the semester, ISU Dining gave students a preview of what could change while students went back home over the summer. Now that the spring semester is coming to a close, ISU Dining has announced that the changes they hinted at are set in stone, and students will see them take shape in the fall. 

The steps had already begun with the implementation and grand opening of Lance and Ellie’s, Iowa State’s own original sandwich shop. The next step was for Clyde’s to close so renovation can begin to change it from a ‘grab and go’ style restaurant into a burger and shake restaurant, as it was several years ago.

Mohamed Ali, the Director of Dining for Iowa State, elaborated on what the new changes would look like and everything that the new Clyde’s would offer. 

“It will begin by opening from 7 in the morning and provide breakfast, Starbucks drinks and breakfast sandwiches to paying customers,” Ali said. “The lunch and dinner will be mostly fries, salad, grilled cheese, burgers and shakes. However, vegan and vegetarian options will still be provided.”

Ali also said Clyde’s will be compatible with GET for mobile ordering and pick up when it is hopefully open this fall.

However, Clyde’s isn’t the only dining facility getting renovations. The Memorial Union Food Court and the Hub are set to undergo some significant renovations. The Hub will still provide coffee and various food items to students, but the renovations will help prevent long lines and cramping in the building.

“Lines have always been a problem at the Hub,” Ali said, “We wanted to try and find a way to make it faster for everyone.”

While Clyde’s is undergoing another change in its design and menu and the Hub is changing to alleviate one of its issues, it is the Memorial Union that will see the most changes. Not only will the look of the Food Court be significantly changed, but the menu will also see a change. 

“We are having a salad bar in the middle of the food court area,” Ali said. “This allows students the option to have healthier, ‘green’ foods and even a rice cooker to make rice bowls.”

It has also been proposed that various meat will also be provided at the rice cooker so everyone can create a variety of rice bowls.

When it comes to changing the actual restaurants inside of the food court area, Ali said the elimination of restaurant chains would be part of the plan.

“The plan is to eventually remove all other chain restaurants, but keep the same concepts the originals had. For example, if we were to get rid of Chester’s Chicken, we would replace it with another chicken place, but with our own branding.”