The new dining commons was worth the wait, offering great food and the opportunity (finally!) to eat communally with friends.
By Gemma Leitzell ’26
Art By Joey Szpilczak ’27
For the past four school years, students and staff have been roaming campus like lifeless zombies, hungry for something more substantial than cold packaged meals, overpriced sandwiches, and the unspeakable: Yay Lunch. That whole time, the promise of a new building, complete not with just a cafeteria but a “dining hall,” has been a shining light at the end of the tunnel. Now, everyone is flocking to the dining hall each day, but is it really as star-studded as it seems—or is it just an exciting, new diversion in the wake of the overplayed Yay Lunch?
The recently opened All School Commons and Center for the Arts has been a long time coming. Its construction lasted more than a year (but was in the planning phase for several years before that), and even paused the use of Loeb during the 2023-24 school year. Its arrival provides a space for the visual arts, including film, as well as digital design and a “fabrication lab.”
During the first week of the dining hall’s opening, one or two grades at a time got to test the food out for free. High schoolers quickly decided it was perfect, and, at the time, it was. What could be better than all-you-can-eat, freshly cooked food with ample space for sitting with your friends?
Nobody could say anything bad about the food. Everything is tasty, and there’s something for everyone. Each day features a new entrée with equally appetizing vegan and gluten-free options. On the opposite side of the serving area, there is the “from the hearth” section, complete with at least two different kinds of pizzas, pastas, sauces, and salads. Other options available daily include a salad and rice bar with ample mix-in and topping options and a soup and sandwich bar with bread from a local bakery. And who could forget the breakfast options in the morning? It seemed that the only problem was that there was too much to choose from!
By the second week, when the dining hall had fully opened, the complaints started to roll in. The school chose to implement a staggered entrance system, with two grades entering at the start of the 11:00 a.m. lunch period and the rest at 11:20 a.m. Impatient and hangry from a hard morning of classes, many students felt above waiting the first 20 minutes. This resulted in a very clogged space, with some people claiming they had clubs to go to and some just pushing forward toward the food. While there is an abundance of tables, seating became an issue with four grades and faculty all eating at the same time, forcing some students to grab to-go containers and seek alternative spaces to consume their lunch.
Another reason for confusion is the pricing. Each food is priced differently, with various combos and sides available. Nobody really knows how the portions work: throughout the dining hall you can hear things like, “Does it cost more if I get a second piece of chicken?” or, “If I got a salad, do I pay extra for a side?” Because of the overcrowding of people, checkout lines get long and rushed, and you are not always told the price of your meal. On the flip side, the system of paying with an account linked to your key card or the option to use “tap to pay” is simple and efficient.
If there’s one thing high schoolers are good at, it’s complaining. Yet despite the grumblings, the new building and its dining hall are providing lots of answers. The food is tasty, healthy, and filling, and there’s something for whatever you’re craving. While there are still minor inconveniences and headaches like pricing or crowding, these are things that will be resolved with some patience.
Not only is the new dining hall providing good food, but it is also a space for community. The pandemic and the lack of a dedicated common space prevented us all from eating together for several years. But now, in the dining hall, it is impossible not to run into your friends, classmates, and teachers. “[It] brings us together physically,” explains junior Indy Wink ’26. “It’s a good way to connect with people you might not otherwise see throughout the day, which is great,” Wink continues. It is safe to say that the dining hall beats Yay Lunch, providing a nutritious, delicious solution that will foster unity and revive us formerly hangry campus zombies.
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