Doghouse Grill opts for Mexican-style menu

The Doghouse Grill dining area.

Photo: Elizabeth Salo

By Dylan Buechler and Elizabeth Salo

Co-Managing Editors

The Doghouse Grill, Concordia’s longstanding on-campus restaurant, is replacing its menu this fall to offer a Chartwells Dining internal brand called Copperhead Jacks, which is along the lines of Chipotle.

The new Dog House menu. Photo: Elizabeth Salo.

Chartwells, which has provided the campus food service for years, took suggestions from students on improving the dining experience on campus. The new menu will consist of street tacos, burritos, bowls, salads, Mexi-fries, nachos, totchos and churro sundaes. Also offered are limited-time items like taco burgers and chipotle chicken strip baskets. Concepts in the Doghouse will change per semester with student input on what they would like moving forward.

Director of Dining Patrick O’Brien looked at the Voice to Vision survey, conducted each fall, and took student’s ideas to heart.

“I am excited to see student reaction to a space that has served basically the same menu for the past 10 years,” he said. “I want to continue to create value for our students and offer delicious food that energizes campus and breaks monotony.”

In addition to the new changes within Janzow, there will be new Supper Clubs for students to enjoy. The Supper Clubs will offer an elevated dining experience. Chartwells hopes to move the location around campus to create unique experiences. Students will be able to make reservations for higher-end meals with multiple courses.

“Supper clubs are intended to offer students elevated dining experiences, fine dining Indian, and a trip around Mexico,” said O’Brien.

Teaching Kitchens will also be offered as reservation-based events. Culinary skills will be taught with college-based recipes that are budget friendly. Recipes will include Rockin’ Ramen, Avocado Toast, Omelets and Residential Dining Recipes.

“We want to engage students more this year with amazing food,” said O’Brien. “We all need to eat, and we should all know how to cook. I hope I can help students in some small way.”

Did you know?

Concordia is welcoming upwards of 380 freshman and transfer students this fall. This includes 110 church work students, the highest number of church workers in one incoming class to date. Student retention is also at a seven-year high.

What else is new?

There are no major changes to the Student Life at Concordia for this year but SLO has many new activities planned for the school year, along with changes to some existing ones to help improve students’ life on campus.

The LAUNCH weekend for new students has traditionally taken place on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday prior to the start of classes. This year it was expanded to also include Thursday, and SLO hopes the increase in activities will help new students make more memories and feel more at home.

SLO also is launching the Bulldogs in Balance: Wellness Wheel Initiative, which will include an event every Friday for eight weeks, beginning the second week of the semester. “The goal [of the wellness initiative] is to educate and empower students to have healthy holistic health,” said Director of Student Life Anna Stumpf.

Students who want to form a Bible Study group can fill out the New Club form so that their group can be marketed similar to clubs.
For students looking to get involved, the annual Student Activities and Resource Fair will be at 6 p.m. on Sept. 1 in Janzow Top in the Cattle Conference Room.

Student dorm use is similar to last year. Concordia Housing Coordinator Rebekah Freed said the dorms are about as full as last year, meaning that most of the men’s dorms are full, while the women’s dorms have a little more extra space.

Director of Campus Safety and Security Dana Metzger reminded students to report suspicious activity, safety concerns, vehicle accidents on campus, thefts, property damage and other incidents to Campus Safety and Security because it helps them to do their jobs better.

“Reports aren’t just paperwork; they help us identify patterns, investigate concerns, coordinate with local law enforcement when appropriate, support insurance and university documentation requirements, and often prevent future incidents,” said Metzger. “Something that seems minor today may become an important piece of a larger picture tomorrow.”

Metzger said students should visit Security’s updated website for information regarding emergencies, incident reporting and other safety information. They can also be reached at (402) 643-3033. It now also includes a place for students to register their bikes and vehicles on campus, instead of having to do so through the Security office.

Tags for vehicles need to be displayed on the lower left corner of the back window, and bicycle tags should be placed under the seat.

Need Bulldog merch?

The Fan Shop and Bookstore has been working to continue the Concordia spirit by providing more merchandise for this year. They will have more school supply items for students looking for something quick. Fan Shop and Bookstore Manager Dylan Owens recommended keeping an eye out for this year’s homecoming T-shirts.

“The Concordia Nebraska Fan Shop is blessed to be able to support our great community by providing opportunities for everyone to represent our fantastic institution through clothes and accessories,” Owens said. “How great is it to let everyone know by wearing the navy and grey that you are proud to be a Bulldog!”

Owens encouraged students to watch for emails about the textbook access program. Every student is automatically enrolled in the program with the option to opt-out. The bookstore opened the opt-out time earlier this year to allow students more time to make a decision about staying in the program.

Academic update:

Concordia is launching a new Master of Arts in Leadership with concentrations in Classical Leadership, Organizational Leadership, Philanthropy Leadership and Adventure, Sport, and Recreation Leadership.

The goal of this online, 33-credit program is to equip students with “timeless biblical principles and innovative, adaptive leadership skills,” said Dr. George Arnold, the Master of Arts in Leadership Program director.

Instead of technical business skills, the program will focus more on the human side of leadership, helping people to strengthen organizations and make an impact that lasts.