'Changed to meet the different needs:' Looking back at the history of dining at UNC

In February, University archeologists began digging up remnants of UNC's first dining hall. The building dates back to 1794 — and by 1809, students had filed the first official complaint about the food.

Steward’s Hall was the first dining facility and second building built at the University. Students were reported to have said the dining hall had an "insufficiency of butter," with beef that was "sometimes tainted," according to the book "UNC A to Z: What Every Tar Heel Needs to Know about the First State University."

The hall was later leased by the University to a private operator. In 1848, Steward’s Hall was dismantled.

Nearly 50 years later, the University converted Commons Hall, a ballroom, into a dining hall. The building was located where Phillips Hall stands today. 

Students complained both about the quality of food served at Commons Hall, as well as the buildings’ size and capacity, which could seat 200 people.  

Commons Hall remained in use until 1914, when Swain Hall became the primary campus dining facility. The hall featured student waiters, busboys and dishwashers, but it was not known for being well-loved by students, with some nicknaming it "Swine Hall."

Lenoir Dining Hall served its first meal on Jan. 2, 1940. The Chapel Hill Weekly covered its opening, describing the colonial-style brick building with three two-story dining rooms, including a restaurant-style option. 

According to Chapel Hill Weekly, Lenoir had replaced Swain Hall, which had become “outmoded and now deserted.”

The article stated that the new hall’s “acousti-celotex” ceilings absorbed noise, reducing the rattle and producing a “luxurious air of quiet.”

“As if by magic, the crash and rattle of plates, silverware and tin trays have been muted to a few insignificant clicks; and the cumulative shouts and roars of hundreds of hungry, feeding or fed young men have been reduced to a sort of melodious murmur,” the writer, Joe Jones, described.

University Archivist Nicholas Graham said that Lenoir’s function has remained the same since 1940. 

"It was built for that purpose, and really, it's just changed to meet the different needs.” he said.

Chase Hall opened on South Campus in 1965 to accommodate the growing number of students living there, though it quickly became unpopular among them. 

Students complained about long lines and sanitation issues, according to "UNC A to Z." When the cafeteria received a “C” sanitation rating two years after opening, some students created Project Refuse to Eat Trash in Chase Hall, also known as RETCH, to advocate for better meals and service.

Carter Johnson, an alumnus who graduated from the University in 1992, said that there were fewer dining options during his time at UNC compared to now.

“There was not a Chick-fil-A or any of that,” he said. “There was nothing else. That was our only option.”

Johnson said students bought food at the Circus Room, a small convenience store which he said is now the Office of Undergraduate Admissions office. 

“It was just a quick stop-in convenience store type thing, where you could go in and get a soda and chips,” Johnson said.

 A few years later in 1997, Lenoir temporarily closed for a year of renovations.

Kris Skinner, a UNC alumnus who graduated in 2000, said that while the dining hall was being renovated, students would eat at a tent on Polk Place. According to "UNC A-Z," privately operated food stands sold meals on Polk Place. These stands included one which primarily sold corn on the cob.

In an email statement to The Daily Tar Heel, Director of Carolina Dining Services Christen Carawan said that student feedback and advising from the CDS Student Advisory Board shape what is served at dining locations.

Akshat Yadav, a first-year at UNC, said that the current dining system is well-balanced.

“There's a solid amount of options for all kinds of diets and tastes — and if you don't like what you're eating that day, you could just always go to that sandwich station,” Yadav said.

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