Fresh new food options in Student Center West

The remodeled Marketplace in Student Center West includes Freshii cafe and Metropolis coffee shop. Photo: Timothy Nguyen/UIC News

By Nada Abdelrahim

Interested in new options for eating on campus this semester? Look no further than Marketplace in Student Center West, which houses a new Freshii café and Metropolis coffee shop.

For those unfamiliar with Freshii, it has a simple concept: healthy food to eat and energize, especially for those on the go.

“Freshii is exactly the type of place I’ve been looking for, and the location is the best part,” said undergrad Ranyah Abdel, who dined at the café recently.

Check out the new eatery during a grand opening celebration from 11:30 to 1:30 p.m. today. The celebration includes free samples, prizes and more.

Freshii’s unique approach to healthy living emphasizes foods you should eat more of instead of focusing on foods to avoid.

Freshii features salads, wraps, rice bowls, fresh juices, smoothies and soups with more 70 ingredients. The first Freshii café opened in Toronto in 2005.

Student response to the new café, which opened Feb. 8, has been positive, said Terence O’Neill, associate director of dining services.

“For campus dining customers, the Freshii concept was exactly what they have been looking for on customer service surveys,” he said.

O’Neill hopes the changes will give new options to students who already dined at the Marketplace location, as well as attract new customers.

Freshii opened alongside a Metropolis coffee shop, a local Chicago coffee shop that “will bring more variety to the coffee scene that already has Starbucks, Intelligentsia and Café Descartes,” O’Neill said.

• Nada Abdelrahim is a junior in bioengineering. Reach her at nabdel7@uic.edu