Maura Ochoa / Staff Photographer

A change at the University Towers Aztec Market and Grill is taking place this coming school year and it may provide students with more cuisine variety.

The UT Grill a single, quick-service restaurant which formerly served as the primary hot meal provider for students living in the nearby residence halls, will be closed for the academic school year and replaced by five local farmers markets’ food vendors.

Monday through Friday, one vendor per night will set up its food station in the circle located in front of the UT Aztec Market to serve hot plates of food. Students will pay for their meals in the Aztec Market and may use meal plans, cash or credit cards.

Paul Melchior, director of San Diego State Dining Services, said it is targeting for the vendors’ hours to be from 4:30 to 8:00 p.m., but that hours will most likely be flexible.
Melchior said the specific vendors are still being decided, but it has already made arrangements with some exciting, top-notch vendors.

The five vendors will have the same schedule every week, so students can look forward to a particular type of cuisine on a certain day of each week while also enjoying a varying menu that changes daily.

Along with these changes, the UT Aztec Market will be expanding its grab-and-go food options, Melchior said. There will be more fresh salad and sandwich options available daily.
The decision to close UT Grill was made because of the initial assumption that UT’s occupancy was going to be relatively low for the next academic school year, according to Melchior.

However, occupancy maintained at normal levels, so changes had to be made to accommodate the higher volume of students with the budget available.
“The situation made us think about the concept, and we liked it,” Melchior said. “We’re taking the popularity of the farmers market and bringing it to SDSU.”

Ample seating for 200 people is still available in the UT Aztec Market area. Melchior said he thinks students are gaining more from this change because there will be much more variety. He is hopeful that the new chow arrangement will attract students from all across campus.

“We’re really excited about it,” Melchior said. “It’s outside of the box and I think that it has great potential.”