Plans for Reborn Arbor Store Include Pizza, Internet Facilities

By BILL SCHLOTTER

The tiny Arbor convenience store adjacent to Girvetz Hall, which was shut down earlier this quarter, will be replaced with a larger store at the same location that will include space for Subway and Woodstock Pizza franchises. Construction is expected to get under way next spring.

In addition to the convenience store, the old Arbor facility also used to house Sunset Strips, a chicken restaurant specializing in deep-fried foods that closed in June 2002.

Croft Yjader, project manager, said the new building will contain about 4,000 square feet, compared to the old structure's 1,000 square feet, and is expected to open for business in the spring quarter of 2005.

The new Arbor store will be the largest of the campus's three convenience stores, according to UCen Dining Services convenience store manager Lance Heather.

"It will be like the Corner Store, but bigger, and will include some products we haven't had room for in the past," Heather said.

In the meantime, a 12-foot by 60-foot trailer has been parked in front of Davidson Library to serve as a temporary home to the store. It has a much larger inventory than the old store, according to Heather.

"We have added a considerable number of new products," he said.

In addition to Subway, Woodstock Pizza, and the convenience store, the new Arbor will also have a coffee bar.

It will also feature both plug-in and wireless Internet connections. The wireless service is expected to extend throughout the Arbor plaza area. Plus, the store complex will provide expanded employment opportunities to students.

"It's exciting," Heather said. "It's really going to be something the whole campus can be proud of."