Campus News

Campus Dining unveils fresh guacamole and vending machine app

Customers lining up to try Guac and Roll.

The new food station, which will open Saturday, August 23, will serve students as many quesadillas and fajitas as their meal plans will allow. They will also provide fresh guacamole made in-house. Photo: Marcene Robinson

By MARCENE ROBINSON

Published August 21, 2014 This content is archived.

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“With Guac and Roll, we’re serving the best product that we possibly can, and from what I hear, our customers already like it. ”
Timothy Malley, assistant manager
Ellicott Food Court

Change is coming to dining at the University at Buffalo, and students will feel it in their stomachs.

In an effort to offer students a fresher and more authentic Mexican cuisine, Campus Dining and Shops (CDS) transformed Salsas in the Ellicott Complex into Guac and Roll.

The new food station, which will open Saturday, August 23, will serve students as many quesadillas and fajitas as their meal plans will allow. They will also provide fresh guacamole made in-house.

“Salsas didn’t live up to our expectations, but the popularity of places like Moe’s and Chipotle drove home that we should keep the Mexican concept,” says Timothy Malley, assistant manager of the Ellicott Food Court. “With Guac and Roll, we’re serving the best product that we possibly can, and from what I hear, our customers already like it.”

Guac and Roll will be open every day between 11 a.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Students can select from a number of Mexican cuisine staples – tacos, enchiladas, and burritos – and add any combination of chips, salsa, queso, guacamole, or rice and beans with a drink to create a combo.

And to help students get more bang for their buck, several prices were lowered to fit combo orders within meal plans, which are priced around eight dollars per meal.

Standing out on Guac and Roll’s menu are a Mexican slaw made from cilantro, lime and lemon juice that is commonly found on authentic street-cart taquerías, and queso fresco, another traditional Mexican staple.

And Malley would know if they are authentic: he, with the help of his wife and her family, whose heritage lies in Mexico, designed the menu. Several dishes were first prepared and screened in Malley’s home.

CBORD Mobile ID, a free smartphone app, allows students, faculty and staff to purchase food from any vending machine on campus using funds from UB cards.

Also shaking up campus diets is the release of CBORD Mobile ID, a smartphone application that will allow students to purchase food from any of the 236 vending machines across campus using funds on their UB card – welcome news for those who consistently find themselves a nickel shy of a bag of chips.

The free app, offered through UB Snackin’, a division of CDS, is available in the App Store and Google Play. Once downloaded, customers can purchase from vending machines using the machine’s unique ID label. Most vending areas will contain signage detailing the process.

Campus Living is exploring the possibility of uses the app with washer and dryer availability and reservation in dorms.