In the new year, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Dairy Store will dish up scoops of change alongside its rotating slate of sweet treats.
As part of a larger realignment toward the core of East Campus, Dairy Store operations will split, with the storefront moving to the north side of its current home in Filley Hall/Food Industry Complex, and the ice cream/cheese production shifting to the Food Innovation Center on Nebraska Innovation Campus.
The change allows for a modernization to the storefront and expands learning opportunities for students in the food science and technology program, which is based at Nebraska Innovation Campus.
“This is going to be an exciting project for the Dairy Store, students and our patrons,” said LeRoy Braden, manager of the Dairy Store. “When the project is complete, we will have improved facilities while maintaining Dairy Store nostalgia with the same flavors everyone loves.”
The new Dairy Store location — which is scheduled to open in late spring — will shift the ice cream shop to face what is known as Legacy Plaza. The green space, which includes four sculptures of Nebraskans who have served as U.S. secretaries of agriculture, is being transformed into a focal point of activity on East Campus.
The green space project launched in 2015 under the direction of Chancellor Ronnie Green, who, at that time, served as vice chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. When complete, Legacy Plaza will be framed by the new Massengale Residential Center, Dairy Store, Nebraska East Union and C.Y. Thompson Library.
Nebraska East Union is currently under renovation. The project will transition the building’s west entrance to the south, facing Legacy Plaza.
The library is also scheduled for a renovation, transforming the space into a learning commons similar to the first floor of Love Library North, offering a shared space for information technology, tutoring, collaborations, meetings and study. While the library is under construction, books will be temporarily available for checkout in the Food Industry Complex.
“From this spring until fall 2020, the old Dairy Store location will become the library circulation desk,” said Barry Shull, facilities director for the vice chancellor of IANR.
The tentative construction schedule for the C.Y. Thompson project is a year, starting in October 2019. When complete, the design will include an entrance/seating area that faces Legacy Plaza.
The Dairy Store project will create a new entrance facing Legacy Plaza. The traditional Dairy Store entrance on the south side of the building will continue to be open to patrons. To help alleviate parking constraints, eight 30-minute parking meters have been installed outside Filley Hall/Food Industry Complex.
The Dairy Store is expected to remain open through the remodel. Additional plans call for the creation of an outdoor seating area on Legacy Plaza for Dairy Store patrons.
Plans for moving the Dairy Store’s ice cream and cheese production to Nebraska Innovation Campus are underway. The new space will be linked to the Food Innovation Center.
“This is definitely an opportunity for us to make sure we integrate additional training space for students while also allowing for expanded research and development needs for companies who might want to use the Dairy Store production facilities,” said Josie Houston, manager of the Dairy Store production facility. “We’re still working on a timeline for the move. But, when it is finished, we’ll definitely be better positioned to support the needs of the Dairy Store while expanding teaching opportunities to students.”
