The 25-year-old Centennial Campus at North Carolina State University finally received its first permanent, full-service dining facility this fall when On The Oval Culinary Creations opened. Located in the Wolf Ridge Apartment complex, On The Oval features four “micro-restaurants” and a diner concept, and has indoor and outdoor seating for more than 400 guests. The 20,000-square foot space, which was designed by Chape Whitman, principal with Ricca Newmark Design, cost $8.6 million.

“Our targets in menu development were to have the fundamentals that students love, including burgers and pizza, but to push these to upscale versions, such as one-third pound Angus burgers, premium fries, fire-deck oven pizza and rotisserie meats,” says Jennifer Gilmore, director of marketing and communications for Campus Enterprises. “We tried to connect the venue names to the locale, and since the College of Engineering is next door, we used engineering terms—Cold Fusion for the deli/salads concept, Fahrenheit for  the fire-deck oven/rotisserie station, Flash Point for the Asian station and Newtons Grill for the grill/diner station. She adds that On The Oval’s check average has been about $6.55, with sales “well balanced between the stations.”  See article.