Changes on the plate for Northside Express

The area will soon be transformed into a burrito bar

By: MELISSA SEYBOLDT

Staff Writer

Questions surrounding dining services at IU South Bend still linger, and some students are wondering, “What’s going on with Northside Express?”

Currently, among the “grab and go” options are sandwiches, yogurt, chips and Starbucks Coffee.

When it was introduced in October 2011, the dining location offered build-your-own sandwiches, soup, salads, snacks, real fruit smoothies and more—and it maintained these offerings until the menu was re-done this summer.

Director of Dining Services Ziggy Pairitz explained the motivation behind this change.

“We originally wanted to have that as a convenience area, so that’s why we offered ‘Simply To Go.’ Last year I noticed there were a lot of lines and people were looking at their watches and realizing they didn’t have time, and they would have to leave.”

He added that the soon-to-open SubConnection at the Courtside Café was supposed to be the destination for students who would rather have freshly-made subs than grab-and-go sandwiches, but delays on the location’s remodeling muffled this concept.

“We were stuck a little one-legged without having [SubConnection] open,” he said.

But the curtains haven’t officially closed on Northside Express’s menu.

“We’re actually looking at putting in a burrito bar down there,” Pairitz said. “We’re just gonna keep it simple with probably beef and chicken to start with, and of course rice and beans, and we’ll have cold toppings – hopefully in a week to two weeks we’ll have that up and running.”

As for SubConnection, Pairtitz says as soon as it’s completed he can have an inspection done and open its doors. No official dates are set, but he hopes for Thursday, Oct. 3.

“This is a great time of year to have these things open, and I really feel for the campus community,” said Pairitz. “But between architectural design and having to get approvals, it’s taking longer than anybody had initially thought. But we’ll get there.”