Boston College Dining Services has in recent weeks made significant changes to Eagle’s Nest, the popular lunch spot known for its salads and sandwiches, and the long lines for each.
“Our McElroy dining team has observed that the lines at Eagle’s Nest this semester at lunch have been long and have been working on changes to help increase the speed of service,” Beth Emery, director of BC Dining, said in an email.
Removing the presser station and adding a second line to the bowl station are the major developments on the second floor of McElroy Commons this fall. Beyond those two changes, salads and deli sandwiches will now be pre-prepared instead of a made-to-order system.
The result has been an increase in serving capabilities: The specialties station, specifically, can now serve 100 more customers per day, according to Emery.
She noted that some of these modifications have received positive feedback from students. Dramatic decreases in wait time were one of the goals of this project, and many students have noted the improved speed of service, according to Emery.
More adjustments are on the way, however.
“We have received feedback from students asking to bring back their favorite paninis,” Emery said. “Based on input from students, starting next week, we have decided to return back to one bowl station and reopen our presser station where we will offer one panini per day and rotate the most popular paninis.”
“I miss the panini line because it was one of the more reliable vegetarian options on campus, and most of the sandwich options now are not as good as the paninis were,” said Caitlin Vasignton, MCAS ’21, in a text.
Student favorites, such as the New England Classic sandwich, have not been featured in Eagle’s for some time. With the old station’s return, the old tradition of rotating sandwich offerings will return. Sandwiches are also available periodically at other locations, such as the Hillside Cafe—where the Classic originated in 2001, according to Emery—and Stuart Hall.
“The bowls and the pressers were like yin and yang, and now without the pressers the balance is thrown of,” said Jay Agrawal, MCAS ’21, in a text.
She also noted that the pre-made turkey and avocado deli sandwich will now be made without cheese or honey mustard. Students have asked for sandwiches to be made to order, but in order to keep lines moving, BC Dining will begin with the compromise of taking things off of the sandwich that can be added on by customers later.
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