Local Restaurant Row continues; Food Truck Thursday launches
By Sarah Sternhagen, contributing writer
Local Restaurant Row, featuring a rotating lineup of local eateries in the University Union, will again host Taiwanese teahouse chain Chatime and Bibibop Asian Grill.
Chatime will return Monday and leave after April 12, according to Aramark Collegiate Hospitality’s director of sustainability & wellbeing Robert Eversole. Bibibop will follow, starting April 15 and finishing the spring lineup on May 17.
Althea’s Almost Famous, a Jamaican-style caterer, opened the semester.
Offering students varied food options beyond the dining halls and staple restaurants, the rotating pop-ups gained popularity among students last semester, The Towerlight reported.
“I think it’s cool to get other options rather than the food that’s here always,” senior Madison Gent said.
Gent said she could see herself patronizing Local Restaurant Row more in the future.
Dining dollars are accepted, and all the restaurants last semester had a preselected combo, called a Tiger Meal.
Sophomore Arlie Paden said she often eats in the same places, so having new restaurants provided good options.
TU Hospitality is also partnering with other restaurants to bring local food trucks to campus every Thursday from 12-4 p.m. outside the Union.
There will be rotating selections of food trucks near the pavilion adjacent to The Den @ PAWS throughout the semester, Eversole said in an email Monday.
Orders are through Grubhub only, Eversole said. Grubhub will accept credit cards and, if students connect their OneCards, Doc and dining dollars.
“We wanted to ensure that we were able to accommodate as many people as possible by accepting as many forms of payment as possible,” Eversole said.
It is up to the individual food trucks if they have a Tiger Meal option, he said.
Bird Box Express, a chicken and sandwich food truck, and Deddle’s Donuts, a catering company best known for their mini donuts, joined Towson for Food Truck Thursday’s debut last week.
Though Aramark could not provide specific details about upcoming food truck offerings, Eversole said the food trucks will “represent a wide variety of cuisines.”