The student-run restaurant in New Mexico State University's Gerald Thomas Hall will usher in a new name and look when lunch service resumes later this month.

Students in NMSU's School Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management have rebranded the former 100 West Café into the Westside Bistro and are eager to unveil an all-new à la carte menu and revamped dining room to the NMSU community and general public on Friday, Feb. 28.

Chef Danielle Young, a college assistant professor who oversees the campus restaurant, said the changes stem from students in her hospitality marketing class. Last fall, the class worked together on a project to drive more customers to the restaurant, which serves as a food laboratory for students in the HRTM 3310 and HRTM 4320 classes.

"After a lot of research and planning, they decided to name us Westside Bistro because we're on the far west side of campus," Young said. "They did a lot of research on what was popular in restaurants and bistros across the country."

Young said her students identified a general lack of awareness about the restaurant throughout NMSU's Las Cruces campus. They also discovered that the three-course menu deterred potential customers, especially students with limited time to dine.

Her students proposed introducing an à la carte menu, where diners can order individually priced appetizers ($5 to $6), entrées ($10 to $12) and desserts ($5). They also nixed the reservation requirement, meaning customers may now order food anytime between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

They also reconfigured the dining room and updated the décor to give the space a bistro-like atmosphere.

Young designed a core menu that will remain the same from week to week, but students will create and offer rotating weekly specials. This semester, the standard items include appetizers like chilled avocado soup, fried buffalo artichoke hearts and carrot ribbon salad, entrées like steak pesto Caesar salad, flatbread pizza and tomato jam BLT, as well as desserts like carrot cake and lemon tart.

The Westside Bistro will feel like any regular American-style restaurant without the fine-dining fuss, Young said.

"The goal is to make Westside Bistro function more like a normal restaurant," she said, "because when these students graduate and go out into the real world, they need to be ready to work as restaurant managers."

She added, "We're trying to make it more fun and casual for our guests."

The bistro will be open for indoor dining every Friday, starting Feb. 28, except for March 18 and April 18. It also accepts takeout orders for a $2 surcharge. To place a takeout order, call 575-646-5805 between 9 and 11 a.m. on the day of service.

Money generated from food sales directly supports the bistro's operational costs.

For more information about the Westside Bistro or other HRTM events this spring, call 575-646-7324 or visit the HRTM website.

The full article can be seen at https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/nmsu-students-to-unveil-rebranded-campus-restaurant-feb.-28/s/09481e03-a2e8-43dd-b48b-e5e7e42d5e7c