The Memorial Union's newest eatery, Pitchforks, opened Thursday with a backdrop of maroon and gold balloon archways and Caribbean drum beats after several months of renovations.
Pitchforks is part of the University's efforts to expand dining options in light of a mandatory meal plan for students living on campus that took effect this semester.
The name of the eatery - the product of a student contest - was also revealed Thursday shortly before the annual Passport to ASU event, where organizations set up booths to attract new student members.
Aimee Gipper, president of the MU Advisory Board, said the naming of the new eatery is one of the steps in making on-campus meals more appealing to students.
"The building of the facility and all the renovations were part of making meal plans accessible and beneficial to students, especially those with meal plans," Gipper said. "We wanted to answer the students' requests."
Pitchforks is a dining experience that is new to ASU, in that it incorporates different food "stations," said Karen Levy, marketing director for ASU Campus Dining.
"We wanted to introduce something called 'destination dining,' in that there are different stations," Levy said.
Each "station" has a different type of food. Some of the foods include international and ethnic cuisine, including Asian and Caribbean genres, grilled foods such as burgers and grilled Panini sandwiches and salads and wraps.
"As a vegetarian, I think that this restaurant is really good," creative writing freshman Matt Stevenson said.
"I came here the other night, and there was even Caribbean tofu. They usually have a good, full vegetarian menu," he said.
Jenna Andresen, the winner of the "Make Your Mark" naming contest will have plenty of opportunities to dine at the new digs after winning a meal plan for her entry.
"I thought of combining eating with a fork and an actual Sun Devil fork," said Andresen, a tourism senior.
"I wanted to make the MU more spirited with its new restaurant." Runners-up Jonathan Gould, with the suggestion of "A-Café," and Jimmy Quinn, with the suggestion of "Devil's Kitchen," each received $250 in Maroon and Gold.
In the contest, students were given the opportunity to suggest for the new MU diner, said Ben Starsky, chairman of the MU Advisory Board's Dining Services Committee.
"We received hundreds of suggestions, and a small committee then went through them to bring the top seven to the board," said Starsky, a secondary education and history senior.
The MU Advisory Board, which is made up of students, staff and community members, then selected their three favorites from the top seven suggestions, he said.
Dining prices at Pitchforks are $4.50 for breakfast, $6.50 for lunch, and $8.50 for dinner.
Reach the reporter at amanda.chan@asu.edu.
