By BERT MILLS
Students are in for a real treat this week as one of the most popular spots on campus opens its doors once again.
The Cougareat Food Court opens today, and its hours are 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Though not all the stores will be serving today because of minor changes, they will all be open on Monday, said Paul Johnson, assistant director of Dining Services.
The pathway between the Ernest L. Wilkinson Center and the BYU Bookstore also opens today. This will allow students to travel directly from the food court to the bookstore and not take the pathway around the building.
The actual grand opening for the Cougareat Food Court will be this fall, about the middle of September, Johnson said.
But Dining Services wanted to get all the bugs worked out during Education Week to be prepared for Fall Semester.
'We want to make it up to the students,' Johnson said. The area has been closed since May 20, 1996. 'We want it to be a big celebration, and we want to kick it off when all the students are back.'
Mildred Jacobs, who worked on the project, said, 'It went well, even though there were a few minor changes.'
Pizza Hut, Subway, KFC and Taco Bell Express are still part of Cougareat, but a whole new selection will be added to the food court, including Homestyle Cooking, Score Board Grill, Tomassito's, Sugar and Spice, L&T Produce and Chopstick.
'The Cougareat Food Court will have the typical variety in a food court,' Johnson said.
Homestyle Cooking will be a place where students can buy sliced meats and baked potatoes.
The Score Board Grill will have a breakfast cooked to order in the morning. For lunch, hamburgers will be custom-made with french fries on the side.
Tomassito's will have different types of pastas and salads. L&T Produce will be a soup and salad stand with custom-made salads.
Sugar and Spice is a new store. It will have ice cream and a bakery. An oven will face the front where the cooking will be done, Johnson said.
The ice cream will be from the BYU Creamery. Muffins and cookies will also be available.
Chopstick will offer a wide variety of oriental food.
Cougar Express will also be available for students in a rush. It will have prepared items to take out and students can make a sack lunch.
The Cougareat Food Court will also be equipped with a time-saver advantage for the students. Before, students had to wait in multiple lines to get the food and then pay.
'A big difference will be that each sale area will have its own cash register and its own drink machine,' Johnson said. 'Students will only have to wait in one line.'
The food court will employ 175 students to run the total operation, Johnson said. This includes the production of the food, opening and closing down the food court and the dishwashers.
Along with the students, a team of managers will be responsible for the food sales area. Mitch Smith will be the manager, and he will be assisted by Neil Cardon and Mary O'Neill.
Full-time employees will supervise each area and work with the students.