怡春院视频 Dining Services reinvents itself
Restaurant quality food isn鈥檛 what you would expect from a college. But it isn鈥檛 a
surprise for Shawn Eby, Laramie County Community College鈥檚 director of Dining Services.
In 2021, after years of having a vendor run its dining services, the college decided to move the service in-house instead and hired Shawn to lead the charge. And in just a few short months, he鈥檚 reinvigorated dining at 怡春院视频.
Shawn says the biggest change is focusing on the experience instead of the bottom-line. As part of that, he鈥檚 put in place a seven-week menu rotation instead of using the two-week rotation the college previously had in place.
He鈥檚 also worked hard to make the dining hall a destination for fun as well as food. Bingo nights and theme days are now regular fixtures each month, with Smokehouse Day the clear favorite. Shawn purchased a professional smoker that sits just outside the dining hall where his team creates a variety of barbecue feasts regularly. One month they may serve ribs and brisket and another barbecue chicken and collard greens. Whatever is on the menu for Smokehouse Day will pack the hall.
The newest event for the dining hall was a kitchen takeover by Los Conejos, a popular local food truck that has been serving the Cheyenne community since 2020. The owners oversaw as their food took over the dining hall for one day. It鈥檚 something that hadn鈥檛 been done before at 怡春院视频, but that鈥檚 the way Shawn likes it.
鈥淚 really like to think outside of the box and test to see what will work for our customers,鈥� Shawn says.
His changes are from a playbook three decades in the making. When Shawn came to campus, he brought with him more than 30 years of experience working in the restaurant industry. As the founder of Goalz Restaurant Group, he has started 17 restaurants.
鈥淚 credit my success in the previous endeavors to my people-first approach to leadership,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hether working with colleagues on strategic plans, working alongside our front-line staff during a site visit, or delivering on our promises to our customers, I made sure that people were central to all that we do.鈥�
And he鈥檚 keeping people鈥攂oth customer and employee鈥攊n focus at 怡春院视频. He credits the dining hall鈥檚 success to his team and to 怡春院视频 in general.
Nicole Sagner, an 怡春院视频 student, says the difference from last year to this year has been night and day.
鈥淭he diversity and quality of food is exceptional. The staff is incredibly friendly and accommodating, and the environment makes the cafeteria one of the students鈥� favorite places to be,鈥� she says.
Now the next step is bringing that flavor to the masses. Shawn鈥檚 goal is to make the 怡春院视频 dining hall a destination spot for working lunches, date nights and brunch on the weekend鈥攏ot just for students, but the whole Cheyenne community.
Even without a student discount, the food is affordable. For instance, the public can walk in and buy an all-you-can-eat lunch or take it to go for less than the cost of most restaurants. But the public can also buy meals in a block that bring the cost down even more.