On Jan. 21 the Huddle transformed for two weeks from its usual Mexican-style eatery to a Chinese themed restaurant known as Shāndîng.

This semester the Huddle will go through a series of changes, borrowing flavors from different countries including China, Italy, France, the Middle East and Greece. The Huddle will serve six different cuisines throughout this semester alternating every two to three weeks and serving Mexican food for one week between each new flavor.        

At Shāndîng, which directly translates to Hilltop in Chinese, students could design their own Chinese meal with fresh vegetables, meat, noodles or rice.

After being open for two weeks, Shāndîng closed on Feb. 1. This week students can enjoy the normal Huddle menu and look forward to tasting Italian food, which will be served for one week only beginning February 9.   

Bon Appétit cashier, Alex Gonzalez, said that she believes students are generally happy about the transitions occurring at the Huddle. According to Gonzalez, many students were pleased with the change and long lines formed daily outside of Shāndîng. 

The food offered at Shāndîng is a healthy alternative to the Huddle’s traditional food, because each meal comes with fresh vegetables and a small salad, Gonzalez said.

“It is kind of interesting that they are trying to bring different foods and represent different cultures here at school, because our school is about diversity,” senior Julie Briones said when asked about the changes.

While Briones thinks the transition is a positive idea, she felt that the changes are too frequent and each new cuisine should be available longer than two weeks.

Sophomore Raven Spratt said that while she only had an egg roll at Shāndîng, she is hopeful for the future international cuisine options.

In addition to offering new foods, the Huddle has also begun to give students passports, which are similar to raffle tickets. The passports require students to collect stamps one from each of the Huddle’s international variations. If students collect six stamps for their passport, they are eligible to win prizes at the end of the semester.