Students woke early on the morning of Monday, Feb. 11, to a closed and locked Kelly Dining Center. Approximately 28 inches of snow, an overnight gift from Winter Storm Nemo, caused enough roof damage for Stony Brook University to close Kelly, one of six major dining halls on campus.
“In the interest of student safety, Kelly Dining Center is closed due to extensive ceiling leaks in customer areas,” Angela Agnello, the director of Marketing and Communications at Stony Brook’s Faculty Student Association said. “The building will reopen as soon as repairs are completed.”
According to James Montalto, a media relations manager for SBU, repairs are already underway. But though nearly a week has passed since the leaks began, there is still no definite date as to when students can expect Kelly Dining to open again.
“The schedule is being implemented as quickly as possible,” Montalto said in an email. “As it is an outdoor project being conducted in winter, the timeline will be influenced by the weather.”
Already, the food court at the Student Activities Center – FSA’s recommended dining alternative – was filled to capacity all week. Lines at Roth Café, extensive enough to begin with, doubled in length.
Even extended hours for both locations were not enough to ease the strain of displaced diners from Kelly Quad, Roosevelt Quad and West Apartment residents used to eating closer to home. The SAC Food Court, well used to closing at ten p.m. on weekdays, now closes four hours later to accommodate Kelly’s late night diners.
“Meal production has been increased at campus dining locations,” Montalto said. Locations include all major campus eateries with the exception of the Health Science eatery, he said.