A fresh coat of paint, new lighting and a hot slice of pizza are all things that new and returning APSU students can expect from the newly renovated café in the Morgan University Center.

The café reopened Thursday, August 20 after undergoing around an $800,000 renovation over the summer break that increased efficiency and made the café’s floor plan more spacious according to Assistant Director of Housing & Dining Services Cecil Wilson.

This first renovation was mostly funded by Chartwell’s, and was originally planned to include the seating area in addition to the servery, the section of the café where food is distributed.

“We figured let’s go ahead and [renovate the servery] really well, instead of taking this money and stretching it out and doing everything halfway,” said Wilson.

Specifically, the floors, lighting and the serving surfaces were renovated.

The new floors are an updated version of the old with a buffed concrete surface, the new light fixtures bring a warmer light than the dated predecessors and new countertops give the café a more “residential” feel according to Wilson.

Wilson says the café needed the renovations because of the competitive nature of higher education.

“In this day and age, we’re competing with schools in each and every way,” said Wilson. “Students aren’t just looking at the quality of the degree. They’re also looking at what you’re housing looks like, what your rec center looks like, so we’re just trying to do our part to make APSU that much more competitive.”

This renovation is the first in a series of renovations to the café set to make APSU a more competitive school.

In the future, the glossy concrete flooring will extend out into the seating area, waist-high translucent glass will separate the regular seating area from the raised area along the right wall and the lounge in the back corner will have wood flooring installed.

In addition to the renovations to the café, Chartwell’s contract with Dining Services concludes around June 2016.