What’s new in Northeastern dining? Mobile ordering through Grubhub, Fuel America cafe in ISEC among additions

plate of food
Dining service at Founders Commons at Mills College at Northeastern University Oakland, California. Photo by Ruby Wallau for Northeastern University

Northeastern Global News has launched an interactive campus guide that includes restaurants, coffee shops and grocery stores near the university’s 13 global campuses.

Northeastern students, faculty and staff will have even more flexible dining options this fall with the introduction of Grubhub mobile ordering, the opening of a Fuel America cafe on the Boston campus and the launch of Northeastern Catering.

headshot of Chris Abayasinghe
Chris Abayasinghe, who is associate vice president for business services and oversees the dining services program at Northeastern. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Chris Abayasinghe, associate vice president of business services at Northeastern, says the services will be live near the start of the school year.

“I think it comes down to helping students manage their time most effectively,” Abayasinghe says when referencing the Grubhub app. “It’s just an item that our busy students are looking for.” 

Here’s a rundown of the many dining updates for Northeastern’s campuses in Boston and Oakland, California.

There’s an app for that

The university has detailed instructions on how to download the Grubhub app and access Northeastern’s suite of restaurants in Boston and Oakland on the Dining Services website.

Students, faculty and staff can use the app to order food, then pick it up at a number of participating restaurants and cafes on campus.

“Students can now have a fully mobile experience and be able to order from that perspective,” Abayasinghe says. “I think that will be a significant game changer.” 

Participating restaurants in the Boston campus include: 

  • Boba Paws
  • Burger 373 
  • Churchill’s Creations 
  • Starbucks
  • Kigo Kitchen
  • Popeyes 
  • Pom & Honey 
  • Subway 
  • Sweet Tomatoes

Participating restaurants on the Oakland campus include: 

  • The Tea Shop 
  • Café Suzie

Did someone order catering? 

Students, faculty and staff on the Boston and Oakland campuses will also have access to the university’s new online catering service.

The website will be useful to student groups or faculty hosting events, Abayasinghe says.

The catering service will launch officially on Aug. 28. 

“There were a variety of catering groups that would come on campus and the idea behind this is to really provide an integrated solution on campus,” Abayasinghe says.

Grab a cup of joe at ISEC 

A Fuel America cafe opened on Thursday, Sept. 28, on the first floor of the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex on the Boston campus.

In addition to coffee and pastries, Fuel’s menu also includes sandwiches, salads, bowls and smoothies.

The ISEC location provides students on the Columbus Avenue side of campus with more dining options.

“This made really good sense from a logistics perspective,” Abayasinghe says.

Coffee options at Tea Shop in Oakland

On the Oakland campus, the university has partnered with Northeastern graduate Helen Russell, founder of Equator Coffees, to add her javas to the menu at the Tea Shop.

Café Susie, located across from the tea shop, has also added a kitchen to allow students to grab food late at night. The cafe will be open until 11 p.m. Previously, it closed at 5 p.m.

Founders Commons gets more hours 

Founders Commons on the Oakland campus will also have continuous service from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. It was previously closed between meals.

“So when the traditional breakfast ends and lunch hasn’t started, you have the ability to grab some food items,” he says.

Cesareo Contreras is a Northeastern Global News reporter. Email him at c.contreras@northeastern.edu. Follow him on Twitter @cesareo_r.