Food court regulars will be looking elsewhere for chow this summer.

The Pioneer Food Court in the Oakland Center closed for renovations on Sunday, May 3. The popular campus food destination will undergo changes that include a Panda Express, Moe’s Southwest Grill and a full-service Chick-Fil-A when it reopens on Thursday, Sept. 3.

During this time, other on-campus food service options will still be available. Vandenburg Dining Center II, Pete’s Coffee and Tea in Kresge Library, Einstein Bros. Bagels in the Engineering Center and Grizz Express will all remain open with adjusted summer hours.

Kat Cotton, judiciary chair for the Oakland University Student Congress, will be spending time in the basement of the Oakland Center this summer.

“I’m happy that [the renovations are] being done in the summer and not during the fall or winter semester when then the parking is more crazy,” Cotton said. “Then I’d have more a problem running on and off campus because it would take a lot longer.”

“It won’t really effect me,” said Charlie Rinehart, communication professor and special lecturer in the School of Health Sciences, who teaches an 8:30-11:50 a.m. summer class. “Very often I leave campus for lunch in the summer since parking is less crowded.”

Jake Rapanotti, sophomore and public service director at WXOU, ate in the food court an average of three days a week last semester. While taking two classes over the summer, Rapanotti agrees that summer is the smartest time for the renovations.

“It’s a bit of a hassle to go somewhere else for food, but I can understand why they’re doing it,” Rapanotti said. “Renovating is always a positive.”

Other students harbor a less optimistic opinion toward the changes.

Wale Edu, junior finance major and vice president of Society for Applied Investing and Financial Education at OU, said the $3.5 million used by the university for the renovations could have been better spent. Edu believes that the money should have been used on new furniture and equipment for each room in the Oakland Center.  

“I do like the new food choices they have to offer, but I don’t think this should have been the first project that the school decided to do,” Edu said. “There are more things students need besides a food choice.”