Hodgdon Good-to-Go, frequently used by Tufts students as a way of stocking up on food supplies for their dorm rooms without using points or cash, has upped campus takeout standards with its recent renovations. Now, with added space, more food and drink options, and snazzier d?©cor, Hodgdon has the potential to lose its reputation as merely the second stop in an afternoon of trick-turning.
The renovated venue includes extra room for fruit, prepared snacks and boxes of soda that students can purchase in bulk rather than by the individual unit. It also has more counter space for soup and breakfast foods and a larger deli section to cut down on lines for sandwiches and wraps.
With the addition of two new cash registers and a more open layout, the new Hodgdon also aims to relieve customer congestion during peak meal times.
But how do students feel about the changes? Most Jumbos interviewed said that while the changes to the menu were negligible and anticlimactic, the new look was sleek and appealing. In addition to the layout changes, the new design includes a fresh color scheme and wall decorations, as well as sparkling new equipment.
Sophomore Denise Feirstein, while conceding that she thought the food was almost identical to last year's, said the new layout was a huge improvement.
"The layout is really nice. It definitely adds to the atmosphere," she said. "The appearance seems to add to the food."
Some freshmen with no exposure to the old Hodgdon also had positive reactions to the renovated dining establishment, citing its ease of use as a major draw.
"I think it's really great, because it's really easy to get food between classes when you don't have a lot of time. And it's really accessible," freshman Isabel Rutherfurd said.
In addition to improvements up front, the renovations brought new cooking equipment and an improved layout for workers. Junior Alexa Fiorini, who works at Hodgdon making burritos, said that she has noticed an improvement in organization as an employee.
"It seems a lot more user-friendly," she said.
Fiorini said she and her coworkers enjoy the new working environment.
"So far, the manager said the feedback's been positive and people have really liked the stuff," she said.
Some students, however, said the changes made Hodgdon worse; they felt the recent changes in Hodgdon focused too much on d?©cor and not enough on improvements in the food being served.
Sophomore Rezwan Khan, an uphill resident and infrequent Hodgdon diner, was unimpressed by the changes and disagreed with the idea that the new layout is an organizational improvement.
"There's nothing that special to come here for," he said. "It's a bit confusing, too."
Khan, who ordered food at the deli, said he liked the fact that students were able to see the ingredients and pick them out by sight in the old Hodgdon.
Sophomore Whitnee Walker-Giles, a frequent Hodgdon visitor, was taken aback by Hodgdon's new face.
"I honestly thought when I first walked in, 'They really went overboard,'" she said. "And I thought it was kind of weird because I was so used to how the old setup was."
But the food, not the layout, is what Walker-Giles found more crucial to her Hodgdon experience.
"I will be in here almost every day, most likely," she said.
