By: Mathew Galvao
Sparky’s Place has been the main site of of dining on campus for years. Merrimack has recently taken initiative to renovate the dining hall this past summer. With changes made to the menu, Augie’s Pub, and seating structure, Sparky’s hopes to appeal more to the students of Merrimack.
Karen Hyder, the Multi Services General Manager, explained that they followed the school’s
vision to make Sparky’s a more appealing place to students, “We worked with the school to follow
their direction. we relocated the dishroom to make a more entrance. We wanted to make a food-
first impression with the pasta/pizza station.”
Some new features within Sparky’s include new hightop tables, booths, and also a bar area where
you can sit and grab a quick bite to eat. The dining hall has also added a new gasfired oven for
their pizza options. With the new renovations came new options for students dining at Sparky’s Place. “we’ll have
new cheese pepperoni flatbread pizza, also hot loafer sandwiches as well as cassorette pasta dishes,” explained Hyder.
With the new renovations coming to Sparky’s, Augie’s Pub was eliminated from it’s original spot to the general dining area. The driving force behind this move was to create space and offer 21+ students more during their visit.
“We had the ability to add a pub menu with the new equipment. we have more T.V.’s and a more open concept,” Hyder explained.
The new pub menu features items such as flatbread pizza, potato skins, chicken wings and egg rolls. Aguie’s will soon feature their latest menu item mozzarella sticks to accompany the students request for that item. For 21+ students, Augies has several beer on tap as well as a wine selection. Sparky’s has recently offered special nights where you can swipe your MackCard and pay a small free to enjoy other food options outside of their everyday menu. Some of these nights have included a chicken wing night, and a free ice cream cone day. Upcoming will be a burger night that will feature many different types of upscale burgers for students to choose from. The renovations to Sparky’s have given the food options here on campus an edge.
