As of January, Fresh Ideas Food Service Management has taken over operations of the college’s dining services.

Though MLC students are the primary users of the cafeteria, the dining hall is also open to the public. The dining hall officially opens to the public Thursday, Jan. 22.

Mitch Pinkelman, Regional Director of Operations of Fresh Ideas, said on the first day open, most customers will not notice any change in service, but new updates are expected to come online later in the year.

“In the short term, little will change,” Pinkelman said. “Everything will look the same with similar food on the menu with a few new things.”

Mitch Pinkelman Regional Director for Fresh Ideas Food Service management and local Fresh Ideas food service director Jarome Hollon visit the MLC dining hall. Fresh Ideas recently took over management of the college dining hall. Photo by Clay Schuldt

Over time, Fresh Ideas plans to add more home-style menu items. Pinkelman said the goals of Fresh Ideas are to make as much from scratch as possible. Any food item that can be made in-house will be made from scratch in the kitchen.

The dining hall will keep many of its popular food stations, but is planning to add new stations as well.

Pinkelman said one of the new food stations will be dedicated for customers with food allergies. This station is called “Delicious Without.” Everything prepared at this station will be made without eggs, fish, gluten, milk, peanuts, sesame, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat.

Another station called “Epic Eats” will focus on rotating local and global favorites and cuisines.

Pinkelman said the cafeteria previously offered the students the ability to build their own smoothies, but now has a dedicated station for that called “Blends and Bowls.”

The Martin Luther College (MLC) dining is ready to welcome back students for the winter semester. As of January, the dining hall is under new food service management, Fresh Ideas. Photo by Clay Schuldt

Pinkelman said some of these station changes have already been made, with others coming later in the semester.

Another enhancement is the “Dine Without the Line” app. Through this phone app, customers will be able to place orders from the station in advance. Each station will have a QR code to scan. After scanning the station, select food from the menu, enter contact information and personalize the order, and then click submit. Users of the feature will receive a notification when the food item is ready. Pinkelman said this app will be useful for customers with special dietary needs.

The biggest changes will come during the summer when Fresh Ideas is planning to renovate the dining hall.

Pinkelman said the concept and design for the new dining hall layout are still being finalized, but he said it will be a noticeable update.

Pinkelman said the greatest advantage Fresh Ideas had in taking over the dining hall operation is they were able to retain the majority of the previous staff who were familiar with the dining hall and the students who use it daily.

“The dining hall team is the best part of the operation,” he said. “They make everything work each day.”

Visit freshideas.moe/mlcdining to view menus, dining hours, information on catering and meal plans.