By Mick Dillon / The Jambar
The 2025-26 school year marks the start of a 15-year partnership between Youngstown State University and AVI Foodsystems for a new spin on YSU’s campus dining experience.
While Kilcawley Center is under renovation, the first floor Chestnut Room is the temporary home of new restaurants from AVI Fresh including Be Bowl’d, Stack’d, Top & Toast Flatbreads and Smoke & Fire Mobile Kitchen. Satellite cafes can also be found at Williamson Hall, Cushwa Hall and William F. Maag Jr. Library.
AVI Foodsystems is based out of Warren, and has many YSU alumni on staff. AVI District Manager David Uram highlighted the importance of serving student needs with its location close to campus.
“YSU is so close to home to us here at AVI, it’s right down the road … So to have an AVI footprint here on YSU is very important to us, and [it’s] important we deliver a vast and comprehensive dining program that meets all the needs of not just resident students but the commuters and the faculty and staff alike,” Uram said.
Uram said student feedback influenced the selection process of the new AVI dining options and menus.
“Understanding what the students want, what they value … we kind of build off of that,” Uram said. “That’s what makes AVI very special … is we can be quick to adjust and really meet the needs of the student.”
Before the contract with AVI, YSU was partnered with Chartwells Dining Service from 2013-25.
Joy Polkabla Byers, interim vice president of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, discussed the transition from YSU’s previous dining partner as well as keeping students fed during the Kilcawley renovations.
“From figuring out how to feed people over the summer, to building a temporary dining area, to changing out equipment from small wear to actual stoves and mixers, to figuring out what’s needed across campus during the summer versus the school year, really a lot of work has gone into place to get ready for this upcoming week,” Byers said.
Among the new restaurants are Grubhub lockers spread throughout campus. Students can use Pete’s Points or Flex Dollars to order food from AVI’s campus-dining options via the Grubhub app and unlock the lockers with their student ID.
“Let’s say you’re in Cushwa and you’ve got ten minutes. I order my food, it takes 20. I’m walking out of class, I go to the food locker, I scan it, I grab my food and I’m off to my next stop,” Byers said.
Emma Price, junior music education major, eats at Christman Dining Hall and stated she is impressed with the improvement in the food’s quality.
“The dining hall has improved significantly,” Price stated. “Most of the food is more fresh and there’s more diverse food options. However, it’s lacking some basic options, like the pasta bar, for example.”
The current iteration of dining options are expected to stay in the Chestnut Room for the remainder of the school year, with the exception of possible menu updates from Top & Toast Flatbreads.
Uram said AVI welcomes students’ opinions, as the business’s mission is to improve the overall campus-dining experience.
“We want to make the program the best one there is in the state. [It] takes all of us, we’re an open door,” Uram said.
