Dining Safety Protocols
Our Plan
We are committed to the safety and well-being of all our guests, while making sure we are offering inspired food experiences and added convenience in our restaurants. Below we outline the safety measures and changes to our menus and locations that have been put in place.
Safety in our Dining Locations
Your safety, and the safety of our dining teams, is paramount. We have implemented additional safety processes and protocols to help ensure the safety of all our operations.
Cleaning & Sanitation
- Cleaning: Each location maintains a variety of tools and processes designed to ensure the highest levels of cleanliness are maintained at all times. Each associate has a Day-At-A-Glance Tool to use as a guide for specific cleaning requirements for every station and space.
- High Touch Cleaning: Extra and frequent cleaning of all surfaces and items that are at higher risk of contamination (door handles, light switches, condiment stations, etc.).
- Dining Rooms: Tables and chairs are cleaned and sanitized immediately after guests leave a table, before new guests sit down.
- Fogging: Each dining location will undergo a food-safe sanitizing fog at the end of each day.
Hand Hygiene
- Guests: Increased availability of hand wash stations, hand sanitizer, ‘no-touch’ service options and targeted signage and communication to promote hand hygiene.
- Employees: Substantial and ongoing hand hygiene training, an increased schedule of mandatory hand washing (every 20 minutes) and appropriate use of PPE (gloves).
Physical Distancing
- Minimizing Contact: Practice of physical distancing, including modifying the frequency and type of face-to-face employee encounters, discouraging hand-shaking, staggering breaks, and posting additional infection control guidelines.
- Signage and Dining Flow: Special signage has been posted in each dining location to help promote physical distancing. Special floor decals to keep distance in lines, and directional signage keeps one way traffic moving in all of our locations. All dining locations have been carefully mapped so that traffic flows efficiently and safely.
- Seating: Seating capacity has been lowered to state-recommended levels in all of our facilities, and our dining rooms have been re-positioned to promote distancing between guests. Additional outdoor seating has been added to each dining location, with tented spaces being placed at Clohan Hall, Lakeside Dining Hall, and McEwen Dining Hall. Physical distancing measures have also been applied to these outdoor seating areas.
- Online Ordering: Exclusive online ordering is being used in retail locations where physical distancing is difficult. Winter Garden, for example, offers exclusively online ordering so that our guests can safely order and pick up food while maintaining distance.
- Physical Barriers: Our registers in retail locations are fitted with acrylic barriers.
Chemicals, Equipment, & PPE
- Chemicals: Specified chemicals are designed specifically for food service environments. Diversey Quat- Sanitizer has the highest possible rating for efficacy. Every location also maintains an inventory of Oxivir TB wipes, a CDC-approved disinfectant for the pathogen treatment of spaces that have been exposed to the COVID-19 virus.
- Equipment: All equipment utilized in cleaning and sanitation, including dishwashers, glass cleaners, chemical dispensers, etc. are checked multiple times per day for correct temperatures, concentrations and functionality.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Your dining team ensures that all locations are properly equipped with the necessary PPE to ensure guest and employee safety – including gloves, masks, eye protection, thermometers, aprons/gowns, etc.
Product Safety
- Vendors & Suppliers: All vendors and suppliers must pass stringent safety and sanitation requirements to gain and maintain approval. Additional controls are placed on vendor deliveries to ensure the safe transfer of all products.
- Food Safety: Standards for food receipt, storage, handling and preparation are very detailed and specific. Each step of the process is monitored and documented so that quality, temperature control and contamination risks are managed at all times.
Check-In Procedures
- Testing: Our dining team has undergone the same COVID-19 testing procedure as the rest of the Elon University community.
- Daily Check-In: All members of our dining team undergo a daily check-in questionnaire and temperature check administered by another member of our team before entering their workspace.
- Vendors and Suppliers: Vendors and suppliers will also be checked in by a member of our team, and will receive a questionnaire and temperature check before entering any dining locations.
- Masks: All team members, suppliers, and vendors will be required to put on a mask before they enter buildings to check in. Masks will be worn by our teams at all times.
Safety in Action
Our team is showcasing these extensive safety protocols and procedures we've worked on this summer to keep our guests and our teams safe. In this video our Director Laura Thompson and Executive Chef Jay Vetter outline some of our new protocols and features at our dining halls
New Service Style and Features
Dining is different this Fall, and our teams have been hard at work implementing new features to make sure our guests still enjoy great food and service, while also considering your busy schedules. Here are some of the changes you'll see in our dining locations that will make dining easy, convenient, and safe.
Service Style
- Served Stations: All stations in our on-campus restaurants are now served by one of our associates, including salad bars and drink stations. We will still be able to offer robust customization at all of these stations, but they will be for our guests’ safety.
- Compostable Containers: All meals are served in compostable containers, with compostable silverware. By eliminating reusable dining ware in the short term, we can better keep our guests safe, while still offering responsible service ware. These containers add convenience for guests that would like to dine on the go.
- Condiment Concierge: Each dining hall features a special station at the exit which has essentials like condiments, napkins, and silverware, so if guests missed anything while in line they can conveniently pick them up before leaving.
- Complete Menus: Each station in our dining halls features a complete menu, including entrees, sides, and desserts, so that our guests don’t have to visit multiple stations to complete their meals.
Online Ordering
- Online Ordering: New online ordering is available through a new phone app, the Transact Mobile Ordering App, in retail restaurants across campus where physical distancing is impossible. These locations include Qdoba, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Boar’s Head Deli, Biscuitville, Freshii, Flat-Out, and Acorn Coffee Shop.
- Added Convenience: In addition to offering new ways to stay physically distanced, this app offers guests the ability to quickly order food and pick up on their way to class, eliminating the need to wait in line.
Continuous Service and Extended Hours
- Continuous Service: We are excited to extend continuous service to all of our dining halls on campus, meaning when our dining halls open for the day, either for breakfast or lunch, we will not close between meals. That way, guests have more flexibility in your day to grab a mid-morning breakfast or a late lunch.
- Extended Hours: We’ll also feature more late night hours in our dining halls, with more locations open past 8pm than last year. Clohan Hall will feature service until 10:00 PM every day except Friday and Saturday, and Lakeside Dining Hall will be open until 9:00 PM Monday-Wednesday, and until 3:00 AM Thursday-Saturday.
New Menus and Increased Grab-and-Go Options
- Added Convenience: You have a busy schedule, so our chefs are introducing more on-the-go options in our dining halls and retail restaurants. Enjoy in-house made charcuterie boards, fruit trays, overnight oats, granola bowls, and more between classes. We also added a new marketplace, Market Under the Oaks, to McEwen Dining Hall, which offers great dorm room staples, snacks, and drinks to the Historic Neighborhood.
- Menus Designed for Convenience: Our chefs are re-thinking stations in our dining halls, building complete menus at each station so that our guests can get in less lines and enjoy meals faster.
Good Uncle
- Food Delivery on Campus: Good Uncle is Elon’s premier meal delivery app that provides nutritious, high quality meals that are delivered to convenient spots on campus.
- High Quality Meals Created by World-Class Chefs: Good Uncle’s menus were designed specifically for delivery by a Michelin-star chef, and unlike competitors, they do not charge a delivery fee.
- Market Meals: Good Uncle also offers prepared meals in our markets on campus, so you can pick up a chef-made meal and enjoy it in the comfort of your home at your convenience.
- Learn More: https://www.gooduncle.com/
Dining Events
- Safe Events on Campus: Popular events, like Farm Table Dinners and Food Trucks, will still happen on campus! We will scale our events to offer the physical distancing a safety measures of all our dining facilities, while still offering memorable experiences across campus. Our chefs also plan to introduce a new teaching kitchen series, which will offer cooking classes to students virtually, bringing skilled chefs to home kitchens across campus using technology.
A Day in the Life of Elon Dining
Our dining team has been hard at work preparing for dining on campus this Fall, applying these added safety measures and developing amazing new menus and locations. Take a peek at a day in our lives.
Campus Dining Locations
Our campus restaurants feature authentic menus developed by our inspired culinary team, and retail locations offer a mix of small local businesses and national favorites. Explore our locations in each of Elon’s unique neighborhoods through digital campus tours.
Colonnades and Danieley
Join us for a dining tour of the Colonnades and Danieley Neighborhoods, led by Elon’s own Deena Elrefai (Class of ’22)! We’re exploring the different dining locations at Clohan Hall, the Koury Business Center, and Daniel Commons!
Global Neighborhood
Join us for a dining tour of the Global Neighborhood, led by Elon’s own Ashley Billie (Class of ’21)! We're exploring the different dining locations in this beautiful part of Elon’s campus!
Historic Neighborhood
Join us for a dining tour of the Historic Neighborhood, led by Elon Rising Senior, Noah! We’re exploring McEwen Dining Hall, Village Juice Co., Pei Wei, Acorn Coffee Shop, and our newest location, Market Under the Oaks!