Carlow’s dining halls open to Pitt: Pitt students hopeful and Carlow students “frustrated”

Starting in September, any Pitt student with a meal plan now has access to Carlow University’s three dining locations. 

Chartwells Higher Education, which manages Pitt Eats, oversees both Pitt’s and Carlow’s dining halls. Since 2022, Carlow students have had access to Pitt’s meal-swap locations. While some students see the new addition to the Pitt-Carlow partnership as a much-needed solution to overcrowding on Pitt’s campus, others question whether it’s worth the extra walk or a fair trade for Carlow students, who already feel limited in their dining choices.

Avery Hawranko, a sophomore biology major at Carlow, has had difficult experiences with Pitt meal swaps. 

“Everytime I have tried to use them, they haven’t worked,” Hawranko said. “It’s happened multiple times at Chick-fil-A, and I’ve had to pay out of pocket. I would definitely be interested in using them if I didn’t have these issues.” 

Hawranko is “frustrated” with Pitt students having access to Carlow’s dining hall because she believes Carlow students “have such limited options already.”

“Pitt students have so many options, and I don’t know why they would feel the need to come to Carlow when there are other places to eat,” Hawranko said. “We have limited space here, so it is not ideal that we’re opening it to students that don’t go here.”

Matthew Sterne, vice chancellor for business services at Pitt, said the collaboration with Carlow aims to give students “more dining options” and “flexibility.”

“Partnering with Carlow expands the variety of places students can eat and adds convenience — especially for those who live or spend time near Carlow’s campus,” Sterne said. 

The Hampton Inn — where some first-year students are currently living — is located on 3315 Hamlet St. — around a 13-minute walk from Carlow University on 3333 Fifth Ave.

Kate Piro, a first-year data science major at Pitt, understands why Pitt collaborated with Carlow,  but is skeptical of whether or not the increased dining options will accommodate Pitt’s largest class size yet. 

“I don’t think it’s worth the walk for me personally, since I live close to the Eatery and it works for me, but I can see how it’s useful for Hampton kids,” Piro said. “I understand they were trying to help, but I don’t know how much it worked.” 

According to Sterne, Pitt is actively trying to accommodate its growing number of students by expanding dining options. 

“The larger dining strategy for the University always evolves based on changing student needs,” Sterne said. “For example, Happy Boba will soon open in the lobby of Towers, along with three new dining concepts at the new Recreation and Wellness Center — Recharge Cafe, Edamame and Squeezed.”  

Students such as Sadie Feingold, a first-year marketing major, went to Carlow’s dining hall over fall break and had a positive experience. 

“It was a little bit of a walk to get to, but I thought the staff were all really welcoming,” Feingold said. “I enjoyed scooping myself ice cream by the dessert area, [and] the chicken fingers tasted better than the Eatery or the Perch, in my opinion.”   

Feingold said she could find herself going back again at some point because it “add[s] more food options” for Pitt students. However, because she lives in Bruce Hall, it’s a trip that Feingold would have to budget her time for in advance. 

“I’d consider going back on the weekends — it’s a little too long of a walk for me during the week,” Feingold said. “I think [Pitt Eats is] doing a great job bringing more variety to dining for students and I look forward to seeing what they come up with next.” 

Rebecca Vitalie, a first-year studying elementary education, has not yet visited Carlow’s dining hall but plans to use it in the future for more food options.

“I would like to go at some point in the future,” Vitalie said. “It’s not super conveniently located to me, so I’m not sure how much I’ll rely on it as an option, [but] it offers more options without [significantly] raising the price of the meal plan.”

Vitalie said that based on her experiences at the Eatery, Pitt’s dining hall is usually overcrowded. 

“The Eatery can get very crowded, specifically in between classes around noon,” Vitalie said. “This makes it very difficult to get a full meal during the day, and often, I leave still feeling hungry or dissatisfied.”

Although Vitalie is hopeful Carlow’s dining hall will combat overcrowding, she still does not think it’s fully reliable. 

“I think it may marginally help with overcrowding, but I’ve yet to hear of anyone actually using it or seeing the crowds go down since this new development,” Vitalie said.