After undergoing major design renovations and being closed all summer, Round Table Pizza, located in the Bronco Student Center, reopened Thursday, Aug. 29 with a brand new, polished sports-bar look.
What was once a cramped spot to order a slice of pizza before heading to class is now a more inviting setting for socializing with friends, enjoying a beer or catching up on sportscasts in between classes.
Associate Director of Dining Services David Corral explained that impressing Cal Poly Pomona students and encouraging them to view Round Table as a hangout spot was the motivation for the renovation.
The total renovation cost around $40,000, with Dining Services brainstorming design plans for the remodel a year in advance.
“Students wanted a pub atmosphere on campus,” Corral said. “So we added new paint, new TVs and we expanded the patio.”
(Elizabeth Aquino | The Poly Post)
Compared to its previous layout, the new and improved Round Table has a brighter coat of paint, multiple flat screen TVs and a larger, enclosed patio with plenty of bright red umbrellas for extra shade.
On the day it reopened, the restaurant was buzzing with groups of students enjoying the newly updated space.
Arlena Banavong, a fourth-year management and human resources student, enjoyed eating pizza and chatting with her friends in Round Table’s spacious red booths.
“Round Table was always lively and always filled with a lot of people,” Banavong said. “But I think the renovations are pretty cool.”
Banavong also admired CPP’s efforts to renovate other spots on campus as well.
Corral said that Centerpoint, the new dining hall, is set to open January 2020. It’s expected to have more food options and a larger amount of seating than Los Olivos Dining Commons, CPP’s current dining hall.
“There’s more places on campus that have been renovated, so they’re definitely trying to give us a more modern vibe to keep up with the generation that is coming here,” Banavong said.
With the addition of a gate to the outside patio, Round Table’s patio now serves as a more private spot for those who want a break from the busier side of campus.
Before the patio was remodeled, the outside of Round Table used to be open and lined with green benches.
“We added a gate to the outside patio, so now we can expand beverages that are consumed outside,” Corral explained. This means students can now enjoy a beer outside, as long as they remain on the gated patio.
Besides physical changes, Corral also revealed that Round Table is also in the works of improving its menu by offering more vegan options.
“We’re exploring vegan crust and [the use of] cauliflower,” Corral said. “We’re working with Round Table to add more vegan options.”
Students like Alexandra Magallon, a fourth-year nutrition and dietetics student, hope more dining spots on campus will take note of Round Table’s improvements.
“It’s gonna make the students want to be on campus more and socialize, and that’s what college is all about,” Magallon said.
