Cleveland State University opened three highly anticipated restaurants in fall 2023, Starbucks, Barrio and Chick-fil-A. 

Students were originally told the new dining options would open a year ago, in fall 2022. But by the end of spring 2023, plans changed. Papa Johns on campus closed in spring 2023 and the administration confirmed that Barrio would open in fall 2023. Starbucks had already been on campus, but in fall 2023 opened in a new, larger location in the Student Center.

Barrio opened Sept. 5, with students standing in long lines. Chick-fil-A opened just over a week later, on Sept. 14, with lines wrapped around near Mobile Campus. 

Missing from the new lineup was Panda Express, which had been planned as part of the fall 2022 revamp of dining options. Fans, however, should not yet give up hope.

“There is still potential for a concept such as Panda Express here at CSU," said Sean Ries, Executive Director of Hospitality and Campus Services. "We will continue to listen to feedback from our student body that will help us identify future brand partners."

"We needed our dining hall, Viking Marketplace, to match the demand of our students and meal plan holders," Ries continued. "We expanded the dining hall to the entire second floor of the Student Center and are excited to have opened up four new serving stations.”

Ries explained that CSU selects its on-campus vendors through what's called a "Request for Proposal" or RFP, and an Ohio state government process decides who is awarded the business. 

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_{Students eating at the new Chick-fil-A  (Credit: Koya Ball).}
 

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_{Customers waiting on their orders at the pickup station (Credit: Koya Ball).}
 

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 _{Barrio employees, gearing up for the day, as they prepare for students to order their lunch (Credit: Koya Ball).}

Many Cleveland State Students are excited for the new dining options, which include an updated dining hall that fills half of the second floor of the Student Center with four new serving stations, Barrio and Chick-fil-A, and a full service Starbucks. 

Off campus, CSU unveiled The Viking Public House, a full restaurant and bar, open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., with the kitchen closing at 9 p.m. each night, when a late night menu takes over until 11 p.m. 

The Viking Public House is hosting trivia on Tuesdays and live music on Fridays, giving the campus a nice upscale vibe, and providing students, faculty and staff a great place to hang out into the late evening. 

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_{Viking Public House houses awesome wall decor (Credit: Koya Ball).}
 

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_{Viking Public House full-service bar (Credit: Koya Ball).}

Those hungry for even more dining options can check out further announcements on the Viking Food Co social media accounts.

“We are excited to see how dining services will continue to grow and improve their program," Ries said. "We encourage our CSU community to follow along for updates and announcements at VikingFoodCo.campusdish.com or on Instagram, Facebook, X, and Tik Tok at @VikingFoodCo." 

"We always look to student feedback to better understand the wants and needs of our community," Ries concluded.