Healthy restaurant adds ‘zest’ to The W - Winter 2008 Wartburg Magazine - Wartburg College

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Mind over Motor Healthy restaurant adds ‘zest’ to The W

by Mekea Williamson ’08

Waverly’s newest restaurant is an important feature of one of the nation’s largest NCAA Division III facilities.

The Zesty Orange is an important addition to the community, giving the area the only wellness center with an eatery. You can enter all areas without a membership or guest pass.

The Zesty Orange offers a daily menu with health-conscious meals.

Healthy dishes on the menu include a variety of smoothies, three to four different salads, two types of soup, fruit packs and yogurt parfaits. The daily menu consists of other various healthy choices.

The Zesty Orange Concession also is open to customers at large events.

Margaret Empie, director of Wartburg dining services, said the Zesty Orange events fare differs from the restaurant’s menu by offering more traditional concession food.

“This meets the needs of customers and allows them to get back to their activities sooner,” said Empie.

The concessions menu doesn’t defeat the purpose of the healthy lifestyles The W promotes, said James Huffman, assistant director of retail and dining services. Instead, it allows crowds an option if they are only interested in getting a quick snack to take back to a game.

“Say there’s a basketball tournament. It’s pretty hard to have a concession and regular menu open when you have several hundred people to serve,” Huffman explained. “So we narrowed our menu to best serve the people.”

Kirstin Carlson ’10 of New Hope, Minn., is among the Zesty Orange’s student employees.

The concession menu includes hot dogs, bratwurst, nachos, popcorn, fountain drinks or bottled beverages, said Huffman.

“We want to promote health and wellness, but we’re also aware that sometimes people want a hot dog,” he said. “We are trying to keep on the healthy side, but we had people say they want the other side. So we mixed it [the menu] to have a variety.”

The goal of the concession stand is to make it easy for people using the facility to stop by to pick up a meal or beverage when they are done, Empie added.

Anna Epley, the Zesty Orange supervisor, likes her job and working with the restaurant’s customers. She has eight years experience as a Wartburg dining services supervisor.

Her staff includes Bev Darrow and Darlene Brandt, as well as 10 to 15 students.

Epley previously worked in Den-Rittersaal in Saemann Student Center. She wants customers to feel welcomed by the friendly staff and willingness to serve.

Williamson is a communication arts major from Chicago, Ill.