Construction near the Living Learning Communities dormitories will end later this month, bringing a revamped Joe’s Cheesy Grill and a Papa John’s to the University of Idaho campus.
“One of things that prompted the construction was wanting to add more variety on campus,” said Allison Wright, field marketing specialist for Vandal Dining, which works with Sodexo to manage campus dining. “We thought that adding a pizza option would be a good addition.”
Allison Wright | Courtesy
Sodexo hired K.A.C.I., a general contracting team based out of Pullman. Both UI and Sodexo have worked with K.A.C.I. for many construction jobs on campus. The contractors at K.A.C.I. pride themselves on their construction of the Hub, Chik-fil-A, Qdoba, the student lounge in the Idaho Commons, the Agricultural Science auditorium and playgrounds in both the Nicholls building and the Child Care Center, according to a K.A.C.I. representative. Sodexo told K.A.C.I. they wanted to update Joe’s Cheesy Grill, while also incorporating a new Papa John’s into the space, Wright said.
The Papa John’s construction started just before winter break, with officials saying the opening would be just after students came back. The opening was delayed due to construction issues, according to K.A.C.I. A K.A.C.I. representative said it was due to shipping issues of equipment in the winter weather.
The delayed reopening was scheduled for Feb. 4, however Sodexo decided to do a “soft opening” Feb. 1 to work out the kinks and let students see the new space. Once the construction was done, Sodexo hired new employees and transferred employees from other Sodexo dining areas on campus, Wright said.
“We had a really great senior supervisor working in the Hub that often worked in the pizza station,” she said. “He was kind of a shoo-in to be the senior supervisor for Papa John’s. We did hire a couple of new people, but we also trained the individuals who work at Joe’s Cheesy Grill to be able to man the Papa John’s station as well.”
Even though the space has changed several times throughout the years (Joe’s Cheesy Grill replaced Denny’s in 2016), Wright said Sodexo plans to keep both Joe’s Cheesy Grill and Papa John’s in the space for a while.
“The hope is that it will stay for a while,” Wright said. “Of course, it will depend on the success of those locations, but I think that Papa John’s will be really successful.”
Brianna Finnegan can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @briannafinnega8