Alpine Bagel rises and shines with new look, renovations

It’s the best thing since sliced bagels, according to one Alpine Bagel Cafe employee.

Alpine Bagel, an eatery in the Student Union, was renovated during winter break. The changes include a larger checkout area with a new counter, new coffee, tea and drink machines, a new frozen yogurt machine and larger signs in the windows. The renovations also relocated the desserts and chips.

Brandon Thomas, a spokesman for Carolina Dining Services, said in an email that the renovations were necessary to upgrade and modernize Alpine’s appearance.

The idea for the renovations has been in the works for more than a year, Thomas said. The cafe has been in the same Union location since 2003, and the renovations were funded solely by Alpine.

“We were fortunate to be able to get the actual work accomplished over the winter break,” Thomas said. “The Union is such a busy place with so many events and happenings taking place there that coordinating any kind of construction project that wouldn’t be disruptive isn’t always easy.”

The project was completed in almost two weeks during the break.

Mario Neville, assistant manager at Alpine, said he is extremely pleased with the changes.

He said he didn’t know exactly how much the project cost.

“This is the best thing that’s happened to us since cutting bagels,” Neville said.

He said the food placement changes could result in shorter lines.

“Over time, we were just patching flaws up and we knew after some time we would just have to fix it,” Neville said.

“We’re going to try implementing a new system when it comes to ordering to speed the process up and get students in and out faster.”

Thomas said he has heard from a large number of students who have already raved about Alpine’s recent facelift.

“We have received a lot of positive word-of-mouth feedback about how great the place looks, how good the food is and how it was missed over the break,” he said.

Neville said the system they had in place before had gotten old and wasn’t working anymore. The renovation moves desserts toward the register, among other changes.

“Everything has been updated, and the flow is somewhat different even though the overall look is the same,” Neville said.

“This is what we needed to get more people attracted to the cafe than what we already have.”

Cody Vientos, a sophomore, purchases coffee from Alpine regularly and noticed the changes right away.

“I thought that there was a lot more room and the new layout was very spacious and inviting,” Vientos said.

university@dailytarheel.com