Free pumpkin bread, lemon pound cake and coffee attracted hundreds to the lower level of the Hinman Dining Hall Saturday afternoon for the official grand opening of the new Subway and Starbucks at Binghamton University.
The event was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and music, followed by samples of pastries and subs. Any attendee who had a receipt from either Starbucks or Subway was able to spin a wheel for prizes ranging from coupons for free tall mocha drinks to cookies, cold brew coffee and six-inch sandwiches. BU Dining Services and the Student Culinary Council (SCC) organized the event, along with the two brands.
John Enright, director of resident dining, said that the new brands have so far elicited positive reviews from students. The grand opening, he said, was held during Family Weekend to showcase the change to more people.
“For the Hinman community, it kind of brings some uniqueness to Hinman that no one else can really brag about, just a specialized attraction for the Hinman community,” Enright said. “It’s been an overwhelming success for us and we’re very happy with the outcome.”
Enright said Hinman College was chosen as the location because, after analyzing student foot traffic, the dining services team determined that many commuters park in Parking Lot M and may grab a cup of coffee in the mornings before class.

He said business has been successful, and Subway is currently doing more transactions than Starbucks while boasting a three-minute sandwich-making time.
Both Starbucks and Subway are open until midnight and act as Hinman Dining Hall’s Nite Owl until that time. Starbucks can accept gift cards, and will soon be able to accept the Starbucks mobile app.
Ryan Sheppard, executive vice president of SCC and a first-year graduate student studying accounting, said the SCC worked with auxiliary services to put both the event and the changes into place.
Jim Ruoff, resident district manager of dining services, said the idea behind bringing these brands to the dining hall was so that students do not have to walk to the center of campus to bring brand name food back to their communities.
“I’m thrilled with the turnout, I really am,” Ruoff said. “I think it’s really exciting to have this many people here and we’re hoping that this shows more interest in the community so students will come and utilize it.”
Sheppard also said that students can look forward to a kosher Dunkin’ Donuts in the Tillman Lobby coming August 2017. The SCC is currently looking for suggestions to replace the Bearcat Café in the Marketplace, and right now, a bubble tea vendor is one of the biggest contenders.