Issue date: 1/29/08 Section: NEWS

Media Credit: Whitney Buster These students have been waiting years for a cafeteria to open at NT's Research Park. Now that it is open, students are enjoying the comfort of hot meals without traveling across town to do so. [Click to enlarge]

The cafeteria at Research Park celebrated its grand opening Thursday with food and Frisbees.
The Park Place Market's vendors came out for the event, bringing samples along with them. Vendors included Coca-Cola, Red Bull and Campbell's.
Food items were served on Frisbees, general manager Ken Botts said. The cafeteria offered a $1.99 cheeseburger with fries for the occasion.
"I've never sold so many hamburgers in my life," Botts said. He said more than 200 students and faculty came out for the event.
Botts said the Park Place Market offers a full grill menu enhanced with healthy options.
"It's completely unique," he said. "We designed the menu after the demographic here."
He said many students at Research Park are from the Middle East and India, and some don't eat beef, so the menu offers chicken as an option and vegetarian dishes.
The cafeteria, which was originally scheduled to open last summer, opened last semester before the winter break. The delay was due to the building remaining dormant for a while, said Chuck Fuller, director of business services. He said the building had to be brought up to code and the code had changed from when the building had been previously used.
"It was just a little more difficult project than we thought it might be," Fuller said.
The market offers cheeseburgers, Angus burgers, veggie hoagies and sandwiches with chips and a fountain drink. It also offers a full breakfast menu and a dish of the day. Additionally, there is a Smart Market with fresh made sandwiches, dessert items to go and different snack foods.
"Our most popular item is the breakfast burrito," Botts said.
The market is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday.
To find out more information about the Park Place Market and other cafeterias under NT Retail services, visit http://www.untretail.com/locations.html or visit its MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/untretail.
The NT Retail's MySpace page offers online coupons, Botts said.
"It's been successful," he said. "We keep getting busier every day."

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