Twelve new food spots are expected to come to UBC in 2017, all to be opened up around the University Boulevard area. Some will be located in the new rental housing currently being developed in front of the War Memorial Gym and the rest in the Old SUB, which is being remodeled and renamed the UBC Life Building.
Seven of the new eateries — which will be Rain or Shine Ice Cream, JJ Bean, Jamjar, Bao Down, Joe Pizza, Nori and TacoMio — will be run out of the street level of Central, the new housing development on University Boulevard
The UBC Life Building will be home to the other five, which will include Starbucks, Subway, Booster Juice and two that are yet to be determined. According to Andrew Parr, managing director of Student Housing and Hospitality Services, the remaining two will be healthy options, with one of them being a salad bar and the other a Southeast Asian fusion place.
The increasing number of people living on campus has made UBC a target for many businesses.
“In the past few years, more students live on campus all-year round,” said Parr. “That attracts the food spots, as before we had a lot of commuter students, so the food spots had only work during the school year.”
When choosing which new eaterys would be coming to campus, UBC staff took into account the need for healthy and diverse options.
“There are a lot of food spots around the campus — for instance, in the AMS Nest,” said Parr. “But I think bringing the new food spots to campus is only good because we are bringing diversity and giving students options.”