Photo by Harrison Meyer for The Lafayette
Upper Farinon’s anticipated closure was announced during the Sept. 3 Student Government meeting.
Upper Farinon’s days as a dining option are numbered.
Lafayette College announced plans to move away from the longtime dining space during the Sept. 3 Student Government meeting. However, what exactly will go in place of Upper largely remains up in the air.
At the meeting, Assistant Vice President of Operations Geoff Labe said that operations and dining services were looking to students to help shape the hall’s future.
“We didn’t come here with a plan,” said Labe, noting that “we want the feedback from students to be that starting point.”
Asked why Upper Farinon could not be retained as a dining option, Labe described the closure as financially advantageous.
“Every tweak we make to dining impacts the meal plan, impacts food costs, impacts how we overall operate,” he added. “So adding another dining hall is probably not the best business decision to make.”
“We are on a really fast timeline,” Labe continued. “So you’re going to see us kind of racing through this process a little bit.”
Labe added that renovations would have required the college to shut down Upper Fairnon for an extended period and find a temporary location during construction.
“I think this was a really opportune time to use an empty space to convert it into a dining hall,” Labe said.
Specifically, the college will be converting the vacant space in McCartney II into a dining option. Labe discussed plans to open the new dining space at the Student Government meeting, though specific plans have not been unveiled.
The ground floor of McCartney II is divided into two distinct sides with no connecting pathway, which will allow the college to develop two dining concepts for the space. In floor plans presented at the meeting, the “A Side” was presented as a seating and a retail option with the “B Side” as a food court with multiple offerings. However, Labe said the college has not yet settled on exactly what will occupy either side.
The college must submit its plans to the city by the end of the calendar year for construction to start as planned, according to Labe.
Some students expressed concerns with the college’s approach of replacing a dining option without a clear idea of what would take its place.
“How are you gonna replace something and you don’t know what you’re replacing it with?” said Ferrah Reid ‘27, adding that she wants the new space to offer a variety of dining options rather than a cuisine-specific restaurant such as “a sushi place.”
Alexis Williams ‘28 said she would like Lafayette to use the vacant space in Upper Farinon to expand student spaces such as study rooms.
Sen. Lily Hoffman ‘27, who chairs the Student Government dining committee, said that several possibilities for the dining space are still under consideration.
“We’re still planning,” Hoffman said, noting that previous surveys indicated a desire for expanded gluten-free and vegetarian options as well as private dining spaces.
Labe declined to answer follow-up questions after the meeting. Tony Williams, the district manager of Parkhurst Dining, deferred comment to Labe.