After being closed last semester for renovations, Butterfield is back and better than ever. With the dining hall open once again, students can come in for breakfast, lunch and dinner on weekdays. But now that the dust has settled, so to speak, what changed— and what hasn’t— over at Butterfield?
The most noticeable change to the dining hall is its size. Before the renovations, Butterfield was much smaller than Mainfare, and therefore could not fit as many students during peak hours.
Now, thanks to an expansion, the two dining halls are more or less the same size.
Given that the class of 2019 is the largest freshman class to attend URI to date, this expansion could not have come at a better time. Butterfield is now much more spacious, and has plenty of seating available, whereas prior to the construction it felt more cramped and compact. On top of the added space, Butterfield’s interior and exterior have also been completely redone, making the dining hall look more modern. While I will admit to personally liking the more quiet atmosphere of the old Butterfield, the expansion was needed.
At the end of the day, however, the most important thing about a dining hall is the food. Fans of the old Butterfield will be pleased to know that in terms of the menus, not much has changed.
You can still have a mini Mount Everest of chicken nuggets for lunch, or have Cocoa Puffs and Belgian waffles with every meal. If you’re patient enough to wait in line for 20 minutes, you can even have soft serve ice cream for dessert (or as your meal, because this is college and you have the freedom to do that). The soup and salad bar, pasta, deli, pizza, Homestyle, and omelette station are also back. And while Butterfield may not have stir fry like Mainfare does, it now offers cooked-to-order burritos.
As someone who’s just starting their third year here at URI and looks back fondly on the old Butterfield, I think the renovations were well worth it. Not only does the dining hall look great, but I remember always having trouble finding a seat whenever I would go there for lunch in-between classes. I haven’t had that problem once this semester. Other students share similar thoughts, as well— I’ve heard many people talk about how great Butterfield is now, especially in comparison to how it was just two short years ago. All in all, one thing is for certain:
Butterfield’s expansion was well worth the wait.