DeKALB – Ellington’s Restaurant is opening its doors back up from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Tuesday. Ellington’s Restaurant is a Campus Dining Services collaboration for students studying nutrition and dietetics and is located on the main floor of the Holmes Student Center.
John Boswell, director of Retail Campus Dining, and Dan Koenen, executive director of Campus Dining Services, are co-instructors of BADM 303: Foodservice Systems Management in Practice, a course where students can get restaurant experience by working at Ellington’s.
Boswell explained what Ellington’s is and its purpose.
“Ellington’s is a student-run restaurant. So it is part of a course for students,” Boswell said. “What that means is the students, with the guidance of the instructors, pick out a theme for the menu, and then a particular student comes up with a menu for that day based on the theme. And then they execute the menu, or the whole service. So they go through, they cost out what the menu would cost. They do the nutrition information. They do all the marketing for it. They do all the scaling.”
Experience at Ellington’s can be beneficial for students but also for the community.
“It’s going to be the only time that they’re (hospitality and dietetics students) spending time in a commercial kitchen, which is crucial to their jobs in the future, having that experience,” Boswell said. “It’s also really important for the campus community as a whole. It’s a great place. There’s a lot of departments that bring colleagues to have lunch there.”
A typical menu at Ellington’s includes a variety of options, with some occasional special editions.
“It’s always generally a salad, a starch, a vegetable, a vegetarian entree, an entree and a dessert. Sometimes we have soup and a salad. Sometimes we may have extra things like rolls or chips and salsa or hummus and pita… then also iced tea, water, coffee,” Boswell said.
On Tuesday, Ellington’s will serve Caesar salad, carved prime rib, grilled portobello mushrooms, roasted red potatoes and parsley, sauteed asparagus, oven roasted brussel sprouts, and for dessert, cherry cobbler with vanilla ice cream, according to the NIU Events Calendar.
The cost to dine at Ellington’s is a set amount of $13.95. They accept Huskie Bucks, Dining Dollars and credit/debit cards. Ellington’s is both a buffet and to-go style. Once inside, students can either take a seat at any available table or go straight toward the buffet. For the to-go option, workers will give students a plastic tray and, once students have paid, they can fill up their plate and head out.
After Ellington’s opening on Tuesday, Ellington’s will be open from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. on select dates from Oct. 8 through Dec. 3. To find Ellington’s menus or find out more about Ellington’s, visit its website.
