By Stephanie Starks | Staff Writer
To celebrate Memorial Dining Hall’s renovation, BaylorEats held the grand opening Thursday, welcoming students into an updated space that blends Baylor tradition with a more modern design.
Jennifer Bohannon, marketing manager for BaylorEats, played an active role in planning Memorial Dining Hall’s new design.
“Memorial is a beloved location on campus,” Bohannon said. “We wanted to preserve the dining hall’s tradition and keep its history alive, while also offering students a bright new location.”
Although most of the renovation happened in the summer before students arrived, much of the planning took place over the course of a year.
“We are excited to see Memorial come to fruition,” Bohannan said. “Many months were put into making [the dining hall] fantastic for Baylor’s students.”
Kristen Jones, an architect with Dallas-based Omniplan, oversaw the renovation. Jones said her team wanted to incorporate Baylor’s culture and traditions while creating a space where students would want to spend time.
“We wanted to integrate some of the great traditions and Baylor’s culture to make this dining space feel like a space where students want to be,” Jones said.
The team was tasked with transforming Memorial from a darker space into a brighter, more modern dining area. The renovation also marked the first major update to the dining hall in over a decade.
“Memorial is unique because we were challenged to make it feel more like Baylor but also elevated,” Jones said. “Memorial now has elevated color palettes, as well as elevated upholstery and furniture. We wanted to make this feel like a grown-up space since Memorial had not been updated in 14 years.”
Jones and her team worked throughout the summer so students could return to an updated Memorial at the start of the school year.
“Memorial has been reimagined,” she said. “We installed new lighting. The ceilings and the millwork were treated. It was all a major effort. What [students] see today is a work of many people. We are thrilled with how it turned out.”
For students, the renovation has changed the dining hall’s atmosphere.
San Luis Obispo, California, senior Sloane Crone feels like the dining hall is “an elevated experience.”
“It feels brighter and homier,” Crone said. “It is also more of an elevated experience than it was in years past. I like seeing all of the Baylor pictures and paraphernalia. It makes Memorial look fancy.”
Crone said the updated dining hall also creates a more communal atmosphere for students.
“Eating here is similar to eating in a living room,” Crone said. “[Students] get to feel like they are a part of it. I am one of those students. I am going here at this moment, and I am surrounded by other students, and we are all experiencing it together.”
Westport, Connecticut, senior Spencer Yim said the revolution reinforces the role food can play in building community.
“Food brings people together,” Yim said. “I love how at Baylor, as a Christian school, we really pride ourselves on building community around the table and fellowshipping together.”
For Yim, the renovation is more than an aesthetic change. It gives students another space to connect with one another.
“This renovation is just another way in which we can continue to build great friendships and relationships together at this university,” Yim said.
