A vision for 2020: Glen Dining closed for improvements in technology, dining options

Glen Dining will close for a year for renovations. Upgrades to the dining hall include TU's first touch screen ordering option.

By Briana Richert '20 on January 22, 2019

Rendering of Glen Dining changes
Glen Dining will reopen in 2020

A new dining experience is coming to The Glen Marketplace and Micromart in 2020. But for now, the dining hall is closed in order to accommodate renovations.

Renovations at The Glen are being timed with construction at the University Union — a new and improved Glen dining hall will be completed in time to accommodate larger volumes of diners with the renovations forcing changes to dining options at the Union in 2020.

Built in 1983 and last renovated in 2004, The Glen is due for a sleek new upgrade that will host a more efficient floor plan and provide new dining opportunities to Towson University students.

An innovative touch-screen ordering system will be implemented on TU’s campus for the first time with the improvements, which also call for a more energy-efficient facility.

To accommodate the redirected dining audience from the Union, the new Glen will feature many new food options to satisfy student needs and provide options.

This 21,000 square-foot renovation is set to include six new food stations, flexible pop-up stations, a kitchen expansion, an updated dish washing room, and new mechanical and electrical systems. The renovation also aspires to reconstruct the Glen into an up-to-date, energy efficient space with an objective of attaining a LEED Silver Certification.

Coupled with a new eatery in the Union expansion, the renovations are meant to accommodate the rising TU community and to create an up-to-date, modern atmosphere befitting the university's growth. More than $700M is being invested into TU's physical campus over a seven-year span.

In the meantime, campus dining services are being altered to enhance offerings to students.

A brand-new breakfast buffet will be implemented at PAWS in time for the spring semester. Just like in Glen’s buffet, students will be able to use a meal swipe in the new PAWS breakfast system. The buffet will be open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Further dining options still available are PAWS’ regular A-La-Carte hours, Au Bon Pain, Patuxent, Susquehanna, the Den, West Village Commons, and the Newell and West Village Dining Halls.

For more dining information, visit towson.edu/dining.