Montgoris Dining Hall reopening for indoor dining

The dining hall will operate at same capacity as it did last fall after it’s October reopening

Dayra Santana, Editor-in-Chief • February 11, 2021

TORCH PHOTO / Brenden Willisch

Indoor dining is set to return to Montgoris Hall at 25% capacity on Feb. 12 following ordinances from Gov. Andrew Coumo. On Feb. 8 Cuomo announced in a press conference that indoor dining in New York City would reopen on Valentine’s Day. This reopening has since been pushed up to this Friday.

According to Scott Lemperle of the Office of Conference & Auxiliary Services, Montgoris Hall can safely seat up to 127 people under social distancing guidelines, consistent with last semester’s ordinance of 65 persons permitted on the first floor and 62 persons permitted on the second floor. This is the same capacity at which the dining hall operated after its reopening on Oct. 2.

Patrons will be required to take their temperatures using contactless thermometers per NYC guidance according to Lemperle.

Montgoris Hall is the only location on campus that will resume indoor dining. According to Lemperle, the tent outside of the Law School will remain open for outdoor dining. Last month, Dining Services told the Torch that the tents in the Residence Village that were in place during the fall semester have been removed as they “could no longer provide a comfortable dining area during the colder months as it is difficult to provide heat to such a large area.”

“Students on meal plans will have the option to dine in Montgoris or takeout up to 3 meals per day with the expanded meal exchange program,” Lemperle said.

Last fall, upon reopening Montgoris Hall, some students expressed grievances with this same meal exchange program, saying that the takeout option is not the all-you-can-eat experience that students are paying for.

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About the Contributor

Dayra Santana, Editor-in-Chief

Dayra is a senior Communication Arts and Legal Studies major. She joined the Torch during her sophomore year as Assistant Features Editor and later became Features Editor and Managing Editor. In her last year, she is serving as the publication’s Editor-in-Chief and hopes to reach more people in the St. John’s community in new and creative ways, including the Torch newsletter and other digital platforms. Dayra loves to make playlists in her free time and favors Spotify over Apple Music! You can reach Dayra at [email protected].