Food Service

As its first foodservice provider, Morrison's Cafeteria served USF's first meals and faced the first student complaints about food.

This student cartoon provided one strategy for forcing down unappetizing food.

With only one foodservice location, the University Center cafeteria was always crowded during peak lunch and dinner hours.

Morrison’s Cafeteria was located on the first floor of the University Center and held exclusive rights to serve food on campus. Morrison’s most popular dishes were Salisbury steak, fried chicken, wieners and baked beans, corn on the cob, string beans, eggplant, and turnip greens. Dining halls in the residential areas of Andros and Argos began to pop up in the 1960s and a snack-bar opened on the top floor of the library. In October of 1970, the Apocalypse Coffee House opened in the University Center. It was renamed “The Empty Keg,” a name that was probably inspired by the state law prohibiting the sale of alcohol on any college campus. However, in early 1972 The Empty Keg began selling alcohol to students of age. In order to purchase beer, the student, staff, or faculty member had to possess a “drinking card.” The card would state the student’s birth date, social security number, and provide a general physical description. The cards needed to be presented at the time of purchase and they had to remain on the table while beer was being consumed. These cards were discontinued months later, but they demonstrated the strict policy prohibiting underage drinking. Fast food on campus became popular in the 1990s. Aside from the Taco Bell and three other fast food outlets located in the Marshall Center, there was a Subway and Pizza Hut inside the Argos cafeteria and another Subway was built in Cooper Hall. Students now have the luxury of choosing between 4 different dining halls on campus and multiple satellite dining locations like Starbucks, Moe’s, Burger King, and Sbarro’s.