Loyola’s food service and dining areas will receive multiple stages of upgrades using a $23 million fund from Sodexo, including a full renovation of the Danna Center. 

The funding came from a contract renegotiation with Sodexo last year, according to Carol Markowitz, senior vice president and chief operating officer. 

Markowitz said part one the renovations will include:

• a relocation of Starbucks to the ground level of Francis Family Hall
• a Chick-Fil-A to replace Bird and Brine
• an expansion of the Orleans dining room with additional dining space and new furniture
• an overhaul of the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems
• a new food service kitchen with new equipment
• upgrades to the retail food court
• a Jimmy Johns to replace Subway this September

  

“This construction project scheduled for completion by next fall of 2025 is only the first phase of what we envision for a fully renovated student center building for our main campus,” Markowitz explained. 

Jimmy Johns will open and replace Subway, expected by the end of this September, and Smoothie King will reopen. 

The Orleans Room dining hall will undergo renovations starting in October and throughout the Spring semester. These renovations will change when and where students can eat, Markowitz said. 

According to Markowitz, there will be three temporary construction walls in the Danna Center from October until the Spring semester:

1. one around the corner of the Danna Center closest to Biever Hall
2. one encroaching on a small portion of the St. Charles Ballroom
3. one encroaching on a small portion of Satchmo’s Lounge directly below St. Charles Ballroom

The Danna Center will close for renovations for the summer of 2025, according to Markowitz.

A second phase of the Danna Center renovations will expand the second floor of the building and fully renovate the building’s exterior, Markowitz said. This exterior renovation will include a “newly envisioned” main entry facing the Peace Quad, Markowitz said. The building will also gain a new plaza facing the Res Quad. The timing of the second phrase has not yet been determined. 

Some students have expressed concern with the construction, including political science junior Ella Jupiter. Jupiter said she was confused by the addition of the Danna Center construction wall. However, she said she was grateful that the administration had listened to students’ feedback.

“Once I realized that there was construction happening, I was both excited and disheartened,” Jupiter said. “I was disheartened because the campus has been filled with construction since my freshman year.”