After Couch Cafeteria’s renovation is complete next year, eating in the cafeteria will be similar to fine dining, said Dave Annis, director of Housing and Food Services.

“I’ve been waiting a long time to do this,” Annis said. “We’ve never had a really nice dining environment. It’s always been very institutional.”

Housing and Food Services is renovating the cafeteria in three phases, the first of which will be completed at the beginning of next semester. When renovations are finished next fall, the cafeteria will resemble a modern restaurant-like environment, Annis said.

“It will look a lot like what you see at BJ’s or any of the very nice restaurants out there,” he said.

Some of the updates include new tile floors, wood panels, colored tile accents, decorative light fixtures, more seating options and stylish chairs. The renovations will cost about $10 million, Annis said.

Phase I is currently under construction and is scheduled to be completed in December. It will include four new restaurant editions—a smokehouse, a stir fry concept, a Mexican burrito line and a breakfast area on the south side of the cafeteria.

The breakfast area will resemble a home kitchen, including cabinets, counters and a refrigerator, where students can prepare some of their own foods.

“If you just want an Eggo, like you do at home, you’ll be able to grab an Eggo and put it in the toaster,” Annis said. “We’ll have a lot of convenience foods, and donuts and bagels,” he said.

Kyle O’Keefe, University College freshman, said he eats in the cafeteria often and is looking forward to the opening of the new restaurants. O’Keefe said he is bored with the current restaurants.

“There’s plenty of variety, but opening up new stuff is going to make the cafeteria better again,” he said.

This renovation is the first since 1994, when the university installed new lighting and made changes to the walls.

“It wasn’t anything as major as this,” Annis said. “Back then we probably spent about a million dollars.”

The wall separating the Phase I construction in the cafeteria will be taken down and rebuilt on the north side when Phase II begins. This means Chick-fil-A, Freshens Smoothie Company, La Roma Pizza and Pasta and Athens Cafe will temporarily be closed, but they will re-open next fall.

“It’s always very difficult to make changes halfway through the year,” Annis said. “It will be difficult, but I think [students] will be very excited about the four new operations that are opening back up in the renovated side. I think students will find a major, major change.”

Phase III, which will occur over the summer, will renovate the cafeteria’s middle section.

“The freshmen students coming in August will find the place completely re-done,” he said.

Barry Bennett, University College freshman, said it will be nice when there is more space in the cafeteria after Phase III is done.

“During the rush hour lunch and dinner, it’s packed,” he said. “It definitely needs to be bigger. It’ll be nice to have a whole new set of restaurants.”

The cafeteria will have a total of 14 different eating concepts when Phase III is completed, Annis said.

“I’m not sure students fully realize what’s going on behind that wall,” he said. “I’m just real excited about being able to give the students back something that will be one of the nicest dining centers, really, in the country.”