The University of Montana in Missoula had outgrown The Food Zoo dining facility at the Emma B. Lommasson Center.

It was too small to handle the students and other customers, including those attending summer conferences. Its replacement is The Lodge Dining Center with seven dining venues, a variety of seating options, pods that support dining venue preparation and a kitchen, all serving and supporting close to 1,400 dining customers daily.

“This center is a welcoming, central gathering space that is transforming the Grizzly dining experience for generations of students, families and community members to come,” says Richard Huffman, MBA, director of Campus Dining. “The center’s mission is to provide a dynamic and immersive dining environment that reflects the university’s commitment to cultural diversity and educational enrichment through authentic global cuisine.”

The project took three years to complete. The building’s location required demolition of a wing of a residence hall and a wing of the building that housed the former dining center. During construction, utilities were maintained throughout the project for the residence hall and existing dining center.

“The facility celebrates the distinct character of a campus set along the Clark Fork River, at the base of Mount Sentinel, and within the state’s arboretum,” says Jeff Hyslop, AIA, principal, NAC Architecture, Spokane, Wash. “The building serves as a vibrant hub of student life, supporting recruitment and retention by reflecting the unique UM culture.”

Situated on picturesque Ryman Mall, a key intersection between on-campus residential communities and the central campus green space, and next to the Grizzly statue and within view of the historic UM Oval, the building’s design frames views of campus landmarks and the surrounding hillsides where the landmark letter “M” on the west face of Mount Sentinel symbolizes and brands the Missoula valley.

“Our mission with the college was to create a love letter to Montana,” says Sarah Chapman, IIDA, NCIDQ, WELL AP, associate principal, NAC Architecture. “We wanted to create a welcoming, inclusive and familiar environment so that all students can come and be part of the Montana storyline and the state’s rich history. Montana is such a special place, and this dining hall is a truly comfortable space meant to bring everyone together around three common loves — community, food and Montana.”

The Lodge serves as a meeting point between residential life and the broader campus core, symbolizing the confluence that echoes the historic Missoula Flood, which shaped the entire region. “The curved, flowing edges and striated brickwork evoke the natural patterns carved into the hills by the floodwaters of Glacial Lake Missoula 12,000 years ago,” Hyslop says.

The building’s main color palette consists of black, white and oak wood. “We wanted to create a timeless palette for the building to let the venue finishes come alive,” Chapman says. “The exterior walls have wood and paint that play with the exterior windows to create a heavily textured vertical pattern resembling trees in a forest juxtaposed by the smooth venue forms representing pebbles smoothed out by flowing river water. We were inspired by the local Montana forests, rivers and mountains that surround the campus.”

An indoor-outdoor fireplace celebrates the natural beauty of the campus and creates a warm, central hearth and a cozy gathering spot especially during Montana’s long winters. A variety of seating options, including long communal tables and tables for different group sizes, are also dispersed, offering diverse and distinct environments for dining, studying, relaxing and socializing. A few built-in booths and banquettes in alcoves offer a cozier environment for diners who want to be near the large communal dining area, but not quite in the action.

Beyond the tables, large windows frame views of the surrounding campus. Two large, covered roof decks provide outdoor dining spaces.

“With the furniture, our goal was to create a place where everyone has the opportunity to create and choose their own dining experience,” Chapman says. “All the furniture is wood to add warmth and a feeling of grounding to the dining hall.”

Each dining venue tells a unique story about Montana’s history. “Within each venue we used a variety of ceramic tiles, safety flooring, paint and quartz counters,” Chapman says. “All of these materials adhered to the safety standards for kitchens and dining facilities while adding vibrancy and visual interest to each venue story. Each color, finish, signage type, lighting and accessory was specifically selected to enhance the story of each venue.”

With students coming from various backgrounds, The Lodge Dining Center seeks to bridge cultural gaps by showcasing a variety of international dishes prepared with genuine ingredients and techniques. “This approach supports the university’s broader objective of fostering an inclusive community where cultural exchange is celebrated,” says Mona Milius, senior vice president, senior principal, Bakergroup, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Each microrestaurant features its own unique menu, equipment, seating and design. “The open kitchen concept, with visible culinary activity and chef-inspired customizable food options, enhances the perception of quality and fosters connections between students and staff,” Milius says.

For Latin American-inspired cuisine, customers frequent La Mesa de Lula. The culinary team use a tortilla grill, a vertical broiler, a fryer and a range/griddle. A graphic explains the mission of The Lodge Dining Hall.

Back-of-the-House Support

Food and supplies arrive at a loading dock. The receiving area features a small workstation equipped with a hand sink and uses air curtains to prevent pests from entering the building. The adjacent outdoor dock-storage area includes parking for service vehicles, as well as designated spaces for trash and compost bins, cardboard recycling, other recycling bins and drainage.

Staff move palleted shipments directly into a large walk-in cooler, a walk-in freezer and dry storage where staff break them down and distribute them to appropriate locations within the storage area. A separate bulk storage area holds bulk carbon dioxide and a central oil waste collection system. A cart storage area sits nearby.

“This positioning facilitates easy access and efficient stock management,” says Stephanie Occhipinti, LEED AP, vice president and principal, Bakergroup. “Proper organization minimizes handling and reduces the risk of cross-contamination.”

The project design team created a logical workflow that minimizes movement and maximizes efficiency from ingredient preparation to final cooking. “The design incorporates clear, unobstructed pathways between preparation areas and cooking stations,” Occhipinti says.

The strategic layout of the back-of-the-house kitchen includes separate workspaces for hot and cold food production. “The back-of-the-house production space is primarily dedicated to the pre-preparation of foods, with final preparation and assembly taking place in front of customers at each microrestaurant,” Milius says.

The culinary team prepare mise en place using a slicer, buffalo chopper and a food processor. To enhance visibility and supervision within the production area, hot cooking equipment lines the perimeter walls. Other equipment in the back-of-the-house includes a smoker, double-stacked convection ovens, double-stacked combi ovens, a tilt skillet/pressure cooker, a griddle, tilt trunnion kettles and double-stacked steamers. Staff use 60-quart mixers for food preparation. The team use sous vide cook tanks to cook vacuum-sealed pork loins, strip steak and beef barbacoa, which team members then place in the blast chiller for future use.

In addition to keeping ingredients cool in refrigerated units, staff use a blast chiller for quickly bringing down the temperature of cooked menu items.

After the culinary team prepare menu items, such as soups, stews and salads for the front-of-the-house microrestaurants, they transport them in hot food warmers or transport carts. Once arriving at the microrestaurants, cold and hot foods are placed into the appropriate service vessels, such as drop-in cold or hot wells or prep tables. Staff move menu items that are not needed immediately for service into a walk-in cooler or freezer or leave them in the plugged-in warmer.

The back-of-the-house area also contains a power wash station for cleaning carts and racks, along with parking space for floor cleaning machines. Also in this area is a station for charging floor scrubber batteries, and a space to store pallet jacks, milk crates, bread racks, compost bins, bins for soiled linens and dirty uniforms, and various other items.

The kitchen sits next to the dish room, providing seamless access to the servery area. “The warewashing drop-off point is strategically positioned between the kitchen, dining area, and exit for convenient access,” Milius says. “An accumulator transports dishes from this drop-off point to the dish room. Sightlines to the warewashing area are screened to ensure privacy, and acoustic concerns are addressed to minimize noise.”

The dish room includes a flight-type dish machine that can be operated by one person or up to eight people for production and efficiency, a three-compartment pot sink, soak sinks, a silverware sorting table, drying racks, a hose reel, a disposer, utility carts hand sinks and floor troughs. “The warewashing area features proper drainage, water-resistant wall surfaces, and hose reels to facilitate thorough cleaning of both the equipment and the space,” Occhipinti says.

Adjacent to the scrapping table in the dish room sits a food waste conveying and disposal system. In addition, a custodial closet, equipped with a mop sink and storage for cleaning supplies and products, is located near the shared offices.

Front-of-the-House Microrestaurants

Each microrestaurant within The Lodge operates with its own set of equipment and layout, ensuring that the production flow is tailored to specific menu items and cooking techniques. “This separation helps maintain efficiency and clarity in food preparation,” Milius says. Most of the microrestaurants contain refrigerators, refrigerated prep tables, hot and cold wells, hot/cold wells and an undercounter dish machine.

“The Lodge’s menu offerings focus on authentic ingredients and preparation methods,” Milius says. “This great selection of diversity enriches customers’ dining experiences and enhances their understanding of world cultures, and promotes cultural understanding,” Milius says. “The dining hall design includes open kitchen areas and informative displays that highlight the origins and preparation methods of the dishes being served. Educational signage and digital screens provide insights into the cultural significance of various ingredients and recipes, transforming each meal into a learning experience. In addition, scheduled workshops and chef-led sessions offer hands-on learning about international cuisines.”

Named after Montana’s oldest livestock brand, Square + Compass offers local beef, grass-fed, grain-finished burgers, Thai pork burgers, Cuban sandwiches, banh mi burgers and bison burgers. Square + Compass also features weekly traditions like grilled cheese and tomato soup every Tuesday, as well as UM’s beloved tradition, Chicken Strip Night, every Thursday. Team members use a griddle and charbroiler for proteins, a salamander to warm rolls and fryers for shrimp.

Dishes are prepared at a saute station with a Mongolian grill.“Sallie’s is a tribute to Mrs. Sallie Brown Bickford, one of Montana’s early Black settlers, baker, wife, mother, entrepreneur and former slave,” Huffman says. “Sallie opened New City Bakery and was one of Montana’s first women to own a utility, as she became the first owner of the Virginia City Water Co.” Sallie’s offers fresh bread, cakes, pies, all baked in nine double-stacked convection ovens. Baked goods come from a central bakery on campus. Montana-made novelty ice cream is also a favorite treat offered here.

Yow & Yee’s Mongolian grill was inspired by the historic Pekin Noodle Parlor of Butte, which is the oldest family-owned, continuously operating Chinese restaurant in the nation. “It was founded by Hum Yow and Tam Kwong Yee in 1909,” Huffman says. The dining station features a Mongolian grill on which the culinary team prepare rotating proteins as well as stir fried vegetable PacRim, bo Ssam Korean pork and rice niko niko. They cook yakisoba noodles in two woks, dumplings, potstickers and bao buns in a double-stacked steamer, and egg rolls, fried tofu and crab rangoon in fryers. The station also contains rice cookers and soup and hot/cold wells.

For Latin American-inspired cuisine, customers frequent La Mesa de Lula. “This restaurant was inspired by the voice and activism of Butte labor activist Lula Martinez,” Huffman says. Here, customers create their own specialties, choosing from a variety of fresh toppings, proteins, barbacoa or seasoned local ground beef, as well as traditional Latin sauces like chimichurri, adobo and tomatillo. Every Friday, Lula also serves golden-browned fry bread (elephant ears), ideal for making delicious Indian Tacos. The culinary team use a tortilla grill, a vertical broiler for pork carnitas, a fryer for fry bread and tortilla chips, a range/griddle for chipotle oyster mushroom taco filling, southwestern roasted veggies and griddled corn.

At Sa Fire, a stone hearth pizza oven draws attention as it bakes pizzas made from house-made dough pulled on dough sheeters and house-made sauces prepared in the back-of-the-house. “This area is inspired by the Sapphire Mountains of southwestern Montana and named in honor of Montana’s beloved state gem, the sapphire,” Huffman says. Customers select ingredients for pasta dishes and others such as sausage marinara, alfredo and pesto meatballs, all cooked prepared at a saute station. The station also holds a hot holding cabinet and pizza tabletop racks.

Terra serves a diverse range of international and ethnic cuisines alongside comforting homestyle dishes. “Terra is named after Montana’s multigenerational immigrant families who populated much of Montana,” Huffman says. “Terra is a nod to our state’s rich mining history and offers both international cuisines and comforting, homestyle dishes.”

The culinary team cook naan bread, skewers and Tandoori chicken in copper tandoor ovens. They use vertical broilers to prepare gyros and shawarma, and a robata grill to cook roasted cajun chicken, ancho pork, roasted squash with fennel and apples, trout with pine nuts and fennel sauce and roasted harissa carrots.

Terra also features a weekly carving station. It also contains induction burners, an induction griddle, induction woks, rice cookers, hot/cold combi wells, fryers, a double convection oven, a vertical cutter-mixer and a food processor. “We’ll use this area for rotating cuisines and pop-ups featuring African and Middle Eastern cuisine,” Huffman says.

Customers can’t miss Beargrass with its 20-foot-high graphic of a grizzly. “Beargrass is named after Montana’s native wildflower and the official flower of Glacier National Park,” Huffman says. Beargrass features a salad bar featuring fresh, locally sourced ingredients harvested from the Iron Griz Garden, a four-acre garden located just six blocks from campus, and other locally purchased greens. A microgreen cabinet stands nearby. Beargrass also features from-scratch soups held in soup wells, deli plates and breakfast bowls.

The Allergen-Friendly Zone offers menu items and ingredients free from gluten, wheat, dairy, tree nuts and peanuts.

Customers also find three beverage stations on this level and one on the upper level.

Sustainability, Eco-Friendly Practices and Education

The Lodge’s eco-friendly practices include sustainable packaging for takeout orders and waste management systems for recycling and composting. The design also features cleanable and durable materials that support environmental sustainability.

The operation uses trayless dining, a waste management system and promotion of reusable dishes and containers. In addition to the microgreens growing cabinet at Beargrass, using the campus garden as a source for produce and purchasing as many locally grown protein and vegetables as possible, staff also compost waste, donate excess food and use plant-based, compostable packaging.

Huffman admits that the culinary team will always experiment to find cuisines and methods of preparation that encourage customers to come to The Lodge. “Most important, this is a place to build community and appreciation of different cultures. This is a never-ending opportunity.” 

About the Project

• Opened: Aug. 19, 2024
• Scope of project: The Lodge Dining Center replaces the former all-you-care-to-eat facility, The Food Zoo. The new dining venue features seven micro restaurants on the main level, a new back-of-the-house kitchen, with conference space and UM Dining administrative offices on the second level.
• Website: umt.edu/dining
• Students on campus: 10,811
• Campus dining participation: 1,880 on residential dining plans; 270 on off-campus dining plans
• Size: 37,989 sq. ft., including 30,354 sq. ft. on main floor and 7,635 sq. feet on second level
• Seats: 625 on the main floor and 375 on the mezzanine and outside on two outdoor dining decks
• Hours: 7 a.m. until 10 p.m., Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. until 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday
• Average check: $14, lunch; $15, dinner (Two new all-you-care-to-eat residential dining plans are available for students living in the residence halls; and four new commuter dining plans offered.)
• Daily transactions/covers: 4,500 as of early September 2024
• Total annual sales: $9.1 million projected
• Microrestaurants: Square + Compass (beef, chicken and pork menu items); Sallie’s (bakery); Yow & Yee (Chinese cuisine); La Mesa de Lula (Latin American cuisine); Sa Fire (pizza and pasta); Terra (international and homestyle cuisine); Beargrass (salad bar, soups, deli plates and breakfast bowls); and Allergen-Friendly Zone 
• Staff: 100 full-time staff and 300 students
• Total project cost: $47 million
• Equipment investment: $4.3 million

Key Players

• Owner: University of Montana
• UM Campus Dining:
  • Director: Richard Huffman, MBA
  • Associate director, Residential Dining: Kacey Gardipee
  • Associate director, business
    operations: Clay Meissner
  • Assistant director, Residential Dining (front of the house): Ray Merseal
  • Executive chef: Brian Heddlesten
  • Executive sous chef, Residential Dining: Tony Martinez
  • Chef de cuisine: Derek Putnam
  • Executive pastry chef: Lindsay Marshall
  • Registered dietitian: Laura Granlund
  • Assistant director, Sustainability and Catering: Colton Buford
  • Gardens Manager: Stasia Orkwiszewski
• Architect: SMA Architecture and Design, Helena, Mont.: Tim Meldrum, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB, partner; Klint Fisher, AIA, NCARB, project manager; Mark Ophus, AIA NCARB, LEED AP, principal/director; Ali Martin, AID, NCARB, associate/director, project management; Peter Rudd, historic preservation specialist; Patrice Anderson, RA, LEED AP, contract administration/architect
• Design architects: NAC Architecture: Jeff Hyslop, AIA, principal; Dana Harbaugh, AIA, chief executive officer; Allisa Tucker and Rod Roda, project architects
• Interior design: NAC Architecture, Seattle: Sarah Chapman, IIDA, NCIDQ, WELL AP, associate principal
• Foodservice consultants: Bakergroup, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Mona Milius, senior vice president, senior principal; Stephanie Occhipinti, LEED AP, vice president, production principal; Stuart Drake, LEED AP, Senior technical designer; James W. Sukenik, FCSI, president, design principal
• General contractor: Swank Enterprises, Kalispell, Mont.
• Engineering: Associated Construction Engineering for mechanical electrical and plumbing engineering; WGM Group for civil engineering; DCI Engineering for structural engineering