Campus Enterprises opened a smoothie shop called Smoothie U in the Atrium Food Court on Monday, one of the three new dining locations coming to campus this year.
Occupying the space of the former Wolf Xpress, students began lining up to try the shop’s smoothies and pastries when the shop opened at 10:30 Monday morning with a line continuing throughout the day.
“We had about 20-25 students lined up when we opened this morning, so that was exciting,”said Jennifer Gilmore, director of marketing and communication at Campus Enterprises.
Gilmore said she and her team designed the brand of Smoothie U, although the shop is not the first time NC State has had a smoothie joint on campus. Freshens smoothie shop used to be in Talley Student Union before the building closed for renovations in 2013.
“We used to have a smoothie place in Talley that we had to take out when we did the renovations over there,”Gilmore said. “That smoothie shop had been at the Atrium before we did renovations there.”
Freshens was close in the minds of some students at Monday’s Smoothie U unveiling.
“I got the raspberry truffle, it tastes more fruity than it is, and it’s delicious, but it is not exactly what I was expecting,”said Will Garrison, a junior double majoring in chemical engineering and international studies. “I just wanted to say that I don’t think this was as good as Freshens. They need to bring back the peanut butter protein because it’s the best.”
Gilmore said that student interest in smoothies was why a smoothie shop was brought back to campus.
“We wanted to bring back a solely dedicated smoothie place on campus,”Gilmore said. “Students love smoothies, and it’s one of those things you can enjoy at just about any time of day as well.”
Jessica Micale, a freshman studying English, said she and her friends were excited to get a smoothie shop on campus and had planned to check it out before it opened.
“The place is very beautiful it’s very open and spacious and probably one of our new favorite places,”Micale said. “My smoothie, the Caribbean Island smoothie, was delicious. We’re going to try to get all of them this week and try every single one to see which one is our favorite.”
Mitch Bowker, a junior in electrical engineering, said he was pleased with his Twisted Berry smoothie.
“It’s pretty good,”Bowker said. “It’s better than I expected and better than what I can make at home.”
The price of a smoothie ranged from $3.79 for some 16 oz. juice-based smoothies to $5.85 for some 24 oz. yogurt-based smoothies. Bakery ideas, such as granola bars and brownie bars, are priced between $2 and $3.
Payment options include: meal credits, Dining Dollars, AllCampus, credit, debit and cash. The meal credit rate is $6 for students paying for their smoothies with a meal plan.
“I think this place is kind of cool, but I’m kind of disappointed you can’t get two smoothies on an equivalency,”Garrison said.
A fully operational Starbucks will also be coming to Talley Student Union in a few weeks during the summer semester.
“We will be adding a full service Starbucks at Talley,”Gilmore said. “You will be able to get your stars and redeem your reward. You will also be able to use Starbucks’gift cards.”
The Starbucks will be on the first floor in Talley Student Union for easy access.
In addition to Starbucks, Talley Student Union will see a new dining place come in the fall semester on the third floor called the “1887 Bistro.”
Gilmore said, according to Randy Lait, senior director of dining services for Campus Enterprises, the menu is still under development.
