What drove the decision to renovate the dining hall?

Jon: With a new residence hall being built, there was a needto upgrade. Housing and dining are seen as a total package, so it makes sense to upgrade both of them at the same time.

Amy: It needed a facelift to be brought up to the same level as the new housing. When a student tours

a campus, it leaves them with an overall favorable impression.

How does the new design differ from the old one?

Liz: It was mainly white and gray with a lot of stainlesssteel and an old-fashioned cafeteria-style tray rail. It

was a clean, institutional-look. The style was big and bulky with square rooms and a segregated design. The ceilings were low.

Amy: Now there is a wow factor when anyone walks in here.

Why did you trust Hubert to help you with the design of your new dining hall?

Liz: We used to shop from the Hubert catalog and buy décor itemspiecemeal from retail stores. But Hubert has everything in one place,

so we decided to save time by using them to help us select the rightitems. The consolidation of vendors was a real time saver for us.

What was your biggest obstacleand how did Hubert help you with that?

Liz: The biggest design problem is selecting the décor pieces and tying them all together for a cohesive look.

Amy: Making it all flow was a challenge. We would have spent at least four weeks driving around to retail

stores trying to find the right décor items, and in the end, we still wouldn’t be happy with them. Finding the right items

with the right scale for the space was very difficult. All of Hubert’sthings work together for a cohesive look and are available in large-

scale so they work with the higher ceiling and more open floor plan.

Amy: Finding smallwares for large volume foodservice—the right size food pans, for

example, can be tricky. But Nancy helped us with all of that.

Ball State University is a state-assisted university located in Muncie, Indiana, one hour

northeast of Indianapolis. The student body includesmore than 20,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

Selecting and designing Smallwares, Signage andDécor for the new Woodworth Commons Dining Hall

Customer Spotlight:

Ball State UniversityThe Project:

Source and/or design updated smallwares, signage and décor to coordinate

with the new interior finishes and nine differentdining themes, staying within budget and on schedule.

Riverside Emporium

BEFORE

AFTER

Customer contacts: Jon Lewis, Director, BSU DiningElizabeth (Liz) Poore, Assistant Director of Operations, BSU Dining

Amy Grasso, Unit Manager, Woodworth Commons, BSU DiningHubert Account Development Manager: Nancy Lane

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What was the main benefit of working with Hubert?

Amy: One-stop shopping and enormous varietyreally saved time. The personal attention from Nancymade us feel like our project was always on schedule and details were worked out. The volume discount of

course, and the product guarantee reassured us.

What is the most important daypart and/or dining concept?

Amy: Lunch is the most important daypart and c-store is a key concept.Portability is important. Many times, students only have time to eat onthe run, so food needs to be portable and available quickly. The c-store

offers food during off-hours to accommodate student schedules.

At what point in yourplanning process did you involve Hubert?

Liz: One year ahead. Once we got the color boards from the general con-tractor, we began to develop ideas for smallwares and décor pieces that

would coordinate with the new interior color scheme. Nancy invited usto Hubert to tour the Center for Creative Merchandising (CCM) so we

could see the actual products in use.

When you visited the CCM at Hubert, what were your first impressions? How did you

find that visit helpful to you in making your selections?

Liz: I don’t think we would have purchased as manyitems if I had to do it straight from the catalog. I would

have purchased about half as much. Seeing the products displayedand inside the actual cases made a big difference. I’m a visual person.

I have to see it and get my hands on it to get the ideas in my mind.

Signage was a critical piece of the project. Signage tends to be an awkward part. It is hard to spec

and hard to price out for bids. Hubert handled all of it withShaw, the signage manufacturer. All of our signage was custom,

so it was quite a job. It was a real relief to have Nancy handle that for us.

What areas of the dining

hall did you want to redesign and/or

what new programsdid you want to

implement?

Amy: Display cooking was a

very important thing to convey freshness and to increase student interaction in their food choices.

Liz: We wanted to create a lot of the “kitchen” in the front of the house–that’s a big trend.

We also wanted a 24-hour lounge, a space for students to gather that would foster a sense of community at Woodworth Commons.

Where did you begin? Can you describe the process of working with Nancy?

Amy: The different menu concepts were developed prior to meeting with the architects so

we knew the themes. We took the color boards to Nancy to help us find the right finishing touches and smallwares for

each concept based on our color scheme and overall atmosphere.

Riverside Emporium

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How long did the process selection take?

Amy: We spent 2 days at Hubert choosing all décor and smallwares to be

used in each area. A lot of attention to detail at this time really paid off. When we returned

I was able to concentrate on getting the buildingopen and Nancy coordinated everything from

there. The product arrived sorted by skid and we were able to pull it off the skid and take it straight

to each concept area. This saved a lot of time sorting.

How did you make your product selections?

Amy: During our visit to Hubert’s CCM, we selected the products we liked, plus

Nancy’s recommendations were a huge help.

Did your project require any custom products? If so, what were they

and how did Hubert help manage that process?

Jon: The shelving in the c-store and all the signage were

custom pieces. The shelving units were custom stained to match existing

shelving for a cohesive look. Again, Hubert coordinated that stain with the manufacturer.

Did you select any Hubert Brand items?

If so, which ones? Why?

Jon: Yes. We chose the Hubert Brand chafers for our catering events

in the President’s suite at the stadium. We took them for a test drive and found them to be very good quality for the price.

Amy: Yes, we chose the Panaramic pieces for our Italian station, Balti pans and double-walled bowls for

Deli World, Hubert tiles for the bakery cart and the decorative banners along with some other décor pieces. We ended up getting

these items for a good price since they were Hubert exclusive brands.

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Deli World: Specialty create-your-

own sandwiches and salads

Spinning Salad Station: Fresh made-to-order salads

built from a deli-style case tossed in homemade dressings.

El Fire Dragon: Rotates from Asian fare to

Mexican fare different days of the week. Large Mongolian grill sets the stage in this area.

Grab and Go Fresh Express: Variety of Italian and

Asian grab and go products featured at the Italian

and Asian stations.

Comfort Zone: Homestyle Comfort

Foods such as chicken anddumplings, ham and

au gratin potatoes and meatloaf.

Patisseries: Features desserts and

pastries along with an espressomachine for specialty drinks.

Island Fresh Express: American-style grab

and go sandwiches, salads, fruit cups and dessert cups.

Dellacasa: Italian cuisine featuring

pizza from a Woodstone Oven. The Tuscan Table

features homemade lasagna, oven roasted vegetables, pasta

with sauces, meatballs, Italiansausage, grilled chicken breast

and stromboli and Italiansausage sandwiches.

Woody’s Grill: Charbroiled hamburgers,

hot dogs, chili cheese fries, and onion rings.

Riverside Emporium: Grocery store area

featuring snacks, baked items, health foods, fresh

fruit, and personal care items.

Beverage Stations:Features brewed iced

tea, fountain machines, Starbucks coffee and a large

assortment of bottled beverages.

What the Students Say

Vicki Loera: I love coming here. It reminds me of Starbucks. There are better choices at this

dining hall with the healthy choices. Plus you can buy a half-gallon of milk and other things in the store.

It’s ten times better than the other places on campus.

Kate Barton: It’s like a café. It doesn’t feel like a cafeteria—it feels homey. I like the carpeting, the colors and the sofas. There are lots of places to sit andmore room to breathe. It’s not loud like other dining halls that are overrun bysound. You can still hear your music in here. Or you can come and watch TV or

even study in the lounge area. There are way better choices for food here, too.

Menu Concepts:What were the benefits of working with your Hubert Account Manager?

Liz: Nancy stayed in touch every week with status updates on our order. She met

deadlines and was very good at follow-up, very on-task.

Amy:Nancy helped us set up for the grand opening. Planograms helped tremendously so we knew where

everything went inside the cases and out. If we hadn’t had the planograms, we would have been hurting.

How did Hubert help with the Grand Opening of the dining hall?

Liz: Nancy came and helped uncrate, unbox and set up things.

Amy: It’s rare to find people who will come in and help you in the crunch like that.

What type of feedback/response are you getting from students?

Amy: It’s been very positive. They like to come here and hang out and I also think

they appreciate the variety of food available.

How do you measure the success of the project?

Jon:When the President and Vice President like it and they bring guests in to show

them, you’re in good shape. It’s a showpiece now.

Is there anything you wish you had done differently?

Amy:No. We plan to switch out seasonal signage banners to indicate a change of seasons,

but that’s really all we’ll change. We want to keep that hotel-resort type, classy feel that Hubert helped us create.

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