New Restaurant To Replace “Natural!” In Fall 2022

Next fall semester, Tilley Student Center’s natural! will be renovated to host The Nook – a breakfast and lunch sandwich shop. The new location will share the space with Dunkin’ Donuts. The Tilley Student Center in Marie F. Green Hall has been flooded with students with the opening of Shake Smart, and Sodexo doesn’t want to end its success there. 

Sodexo decided to replace natural! with The Nook in fall 2021.

Duke Davis, the Sodexo district manager on campus, explained the need for another food location in Tilley. 

“The only breakfast options in Tilley would be Fresh Market until 9 a.m. and Chick-fil-A until 10:30 a.m., so there would be nothing else,” Davis said. “In The Nook, there would be signature breakfast sandwiches and create-your-own (options).” 

The entire menu still needs to be decided, but Sarah Falls, Sodexo’s district chef, is crafting the menu and determining what The Nook will serve for both breakfast and lunch.  

Renovations for the The Nook will begin in the summer and will be completed by the time students return for the fall semester.  

“There will be no redesigning – we just have to add ovens, which we already have,” Davis said. “Nothing will have to be imported, which is what slowed us down so much with Shake Smart.” 

Sophomore Payton Waddell believes The Nook’s breakfast could rival Chick-fil-A in its post-workout popularity. 

“After a workout, I’m craving food, and I’m not gonna eat something that I gain all the calories back that I burned off,” Waddell said. “I think a breakfast sandwich place would be good just cause it’s different, and it’s not necessarily a huge calorie overload and greasy. Sometimes a sandwich feels better than eating a biscuit with fried chicken on it.” 

Sodexo posted advertisements for job opportunities at Shake Smart across campus, and Dominique Rose, the retail manager, confirms that jobs will be available for The Nook in the fall and that Sodexo is still hiring for job positions in the Tilley Student Center. 

“We’re continuously hiring for Shake Smart and other positions as well here in the building,” Rose said. “We will be hiring for The Nook in the fall.” 

For more information about Sodexo’s job openings, applications, hours and more, visit libertydining.com/jobs.

Napier is a news reporter. Follow her on Twitter