FSD Quarterly | Q4 2025

RENOVATION ROUNDUP

From those initial visions, early branding and identity work began, along with an overall vision for the reborn Perry Food Hall. The vision included murals, signage and glass boxes that define spaces. Pichardo was part of the process, and FSD spoke with her during the process last winter. “There’s major digging going on,” Pichardo said at the time. “While digging up con - crete, they hit this storm drain that’s over 100 years old. That explains why we had flooding and a sinkhole in the back.” The process involved moving earth, literally, but Pichardo and the team kept their eyes on what Perry would become. “It’s going to bring a new experience for students to enjoy,” she said, “with spaces to study and spend time together and just be social. That’s what we want them to have.” She also described watching the framework and glass being delivered for the glass box seating area. Flash forward to present day and the dust (and mud) has settled, revealing a new, improved, yet still classic and comforting Perry Food Hall, ready to be the main cam- pus gathering place that it set out to be more than a century ago. IN-BETWEEN TIME From the fall of 2024 to spring of 2025, interim dining was a necessity and staff from Perry Hall scattered around different corners of campus to keep serving

food. Perry Food Truck did some heavy lifting as a temporary option and a new grab-and-go concept, Perry-To-Go launched in the Colvard Student Union, which extended the reach of the dining team. In addition, a local food truck pro- gram launched to shore up the selection even more. Before this latest renovation, the last time the interior had been updated was in the late ’60s and early ’70s, when a kitchen and apparently some cinder block were added. Sometime in the mid ’90s, another refresh occurred, but much to the chagrin of Gen-Xers, the mid ’90s were 30 years ago. So, once news got around about the upcoming changes, the whole campus community was looking forward to something fresh, even though an over- haul this big can certainly take time.

QUARTERLY | Q3