Knollcrest Dining Hall, previously the only dining hall offering dinner on campus, has indefinitely closed. To alleviate any drawbacks of this change, Commons Dining Hall, previously only open for breakfast and lunch, now offers all day dining, staying open from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekends. Students found out about these changes through an email from Calvin Dining Services (CDS) over spring break.
Rumors have gone around that many of Calvin’s recent changes are due to budget issues; this was confirmed to be a reason for the closing of Knollcrest by Luis Aljona, the director of hospitality operations at Calvin University dining services. “In order to hit [the] CDS budget for the 2025-26 academic year, we realized that we would need to adjust operations significantly for the remainder of the year,” he wrote in an email to Chimes.
The budget adjustments did not harm student employment, according to both Aljona and Matt Chalov, a freshman previously employed at Knollcrest. In fact, instead of reducing student employment opportunities, Aljona wrote that CDS “added new operational positions to better accommodate the flow of students.” Knollcrest employees did not lose their jobs but were instead moved to Commons. The students were able to keep all their shifts, but it was not a completely seamless transition. Commons has a smaller kitchen and a more complicated layout than Knollcrest; Chalov explained that this has caused previous Knollcrest employees to feel that “it’s nicer to eat at Commons, but it’s nicer to work at Knollcrest.”
Chalov, who lives in KHVR, also mentioned that he chose his shifts at Knollcrest because they were closer to his dorm. Most of the students who eat dinner on campus live in the dorms, and most of the dorms (KHvR, BB, NVW and BB) are closer to Knollcrest—this made Knollcrest a more convenient option for going to dinner. Commons is located closer to some of the dorms (SE, BHT) and to the academic buildings, which makes it more convenient to go to class or the library before or after a meal.
Students have varying opinions about the differing layouts of the dining halls. Although she will miss the affectionately nicknamed “Jesus table” only found at Knollcrest, freshman Morgan Drost is excited about the move to Commons because “the seating at Commons is very much superior because there’s a variety of tables.” However, another freshman, Meili Kingma, finds the Commons layout stressful.“I hate how the hallway parts of the walkways get so crowded and then I’m just like, oh, but please don’t run me over,” she told Chimes. The multiple sections make it harder for her to find her friends, so she has to spend more time wandering, which increases her level of stress.
Not only are meals now offered at different times and locations, they also now contain different foods. Previously, a Commons lunch consisted of two main options: Kimchi’s, an “Indo-Asian Inspired Eating Experience” and Knight’s Cafe, an American food section. Commons also hosts Uppercrust and The Grille, which serve sandwiches. Knollcrest offerings had undergone many changes already, but right before break, dinner was available from the Comfort Corner (a rotating entrée station), the Taqueria and the Globe, an international food station. Both dinings halls also offered an allergy-friendly station, a pizza and pasta station, a salad bar and cereal.
In the first week of all-day dining, these meal options changed. Kimchi’s has been replaced with the dashi noodle bar, and the Taqueria serves lunch in the Knight’s Cafe spot. Knight’s Cafe now offers dinner, which so far has only been pasta dishes joined by a new station: Za’atar Hummus Bar. The Grille, located next to Uppercrust, still serves the same rotating lunch options, but will serve hot dogs every day for dinner.
Drost and Kingma represent the differences in student opinions about the food quality. Drost follows the popular opinion that Commons has better food, even predicting that she will “probably eat more of it because it’s delicious.” Kingma, however, disagrees: “I honestly don’t see that much of a difference in food options.”
There was one difference in food options that many students noticed this past week. Wing Wednesday, a tradition that many Calvin students loved, did not appear in the dining hall. Murmurs of displeasure echoed through Commons on Wednesday night as students experienced a different dinner option. Evan Herbert, a freshman, lamented that “ever since they stopped Wing Wednesday, I’ve just been on a downward spiral.” Drost also declared that she “will never forgive them for taking away Wing Wednesday.”
