It’s become a regular occurrence: people standing, trays in hand, scanning the Orleans Room for a place to eat. Members of the Loyola community said they find seating in Loyola’s dining room hard to find during lunch time on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“It’s ridiculous. There’s nowhere to sit,” Rebekah Locke, an English and philosophy freshman, said.

The seating issues stem from the Orleans Room’s new lunchtime system that was put into place this year. Dining Services has replaced the à la carte arrangement, which allowed customers to buy each item individually, with an all-you-can-eat buffet. This prevents people from being able to take their food to go, or to other parts of campus, including the Danna Center lounge and the patio, which helped alleviate congestion in past years.

“If we have access from the surrounding areas, we don’t have control from that door of who comes in and to account for what we’re serving,” Mark Main, the resident dining manager, said.

This year the number of other retail options has increased with the addition of Flambeaux’s, Satchmo’s and the new sushi counter in the Market to make up for the adjustment in the Orleans Room.

“It was retail during lunch so they were able to get what they wanted but there were very limited retail offerings elsewhere on campus,” Main said.

But many students say they have had problems with the new system, from being too busy with schoolwork or with activities to sit down and eat in the Orleans Room to those who don’t like the other choices.

“There are no other healthy options. I can only tutor during the window, and that’s the only time that (the Orleans Room) is open,” Emily Drabek, physics senior, said.

As far as the lack of seating goes, the dining services staff is doing all that they can to help with the situation.

“We have increased the number of tables. We’ve increased as much as we can legally.  From there, it turns into more of a liability not only for us, but for the school as well,” Main said.

The congestion, he said, hinges on customer cooperation after a certain point.

“If they’re finished, they can take the conversation out (to the lounge) or outside if it’s a pleasant day,” he said.

While the situation is manageable for now, the Orleans Room will have to figure out a way to accommodate if the student population continues to grow.

“I think at some point, once you reach the point of maximum capacity, and the student body continues to grow, then obviously, adjustments need to be made,” Main said, “Even though we’ve got a nice renovation on hand, with fresh paint and a new look, the realities of the building still exist. That’s a little bit of a challenge.”

Ben Sines, English writing senior, doesn’t eat often in the Orleans Room anymore, but doesn’t think the changes are so bad.

“When I lived on campus my sophomore year, there was plenty of seating but the food wasn’t as good. They sacrificed seating for food quality,” he said.

Masako Hirsch can be reached at [email protected].