Starting July 1, Creative Dining Services will provide food services across the Kettering University campus to students, faculty and staff. 

The University has entered into a three-year partnership with the Zeeland-based company, which also services multiple colleges and universities and major corporations, including Kalamazoo College, Union University, Wendy’s headquarters, Stryker Corporation and Whirlpool. The company will focus on creating menus with locally sourced ingredients.

“Creative Dining Services is the perfect partner because they are truly committed to providing our students and employees with a great dining experience,” said Tom Ayers, Kettering Vice President of Administration and Finance. “We’re excited to provide the Kettering community with expanded dining options and new hours of service in the afternoons and evenings.  Flexible Dining Dollars will be available for purchase by all students at discounted rates for use at any of the food venues on campus, and our new brick pizza oven is a great new addition to our service.”

Executive Chef Brandon Grzegorczyk will lead the kitchen, while Mike Rourke will be the on-site food service director. 

Grzegorczyk, who has a Bachelor’s degree in Food and Beverage Business Management from the Culinary Institute of Michigan, most recently worked as the executive chef at Jackson National Life Insurance Company. He’s worked as a coffee roaster and barista at Brewtopia and sous chef at Independence Village of Grand Ledge.

Rourke, who has worked at Creative Dining Services for more than nine years, most recently worked as the food service leader at Auto-Owners Associates and Jackson National Life Insurance Company. Rourke has earned top certifications in safety and sanitation practices and also has executive chef experience. He leads innovative menu conception based on health, wellness and sustainability.

Students, faculty and staff can expect menus that include globally inspired dishes and homestyle classics prepared with locally sourced ingredients at seven food stations in the University’s newest building, the Learning Commons.

The food stations are:

• Trattoria: Pizza and pasta dishes from our state-of-the-art pizza oven are available here, including baked ziti, tortellini piccata, spicy pepperoni and Margherita pizzas.
• The Sobey Deli: Named after Kettering founder Albert J. Sobey, the Sobey Deli features fresh-cut meats, assorted cheeses and seasonal toppings to build your sandwiches. Handcrafted burgers with fries and tater tots also are available.
• Hearth ’19: Chefs use emerging global flavors for aromatic, handcrafted dishes with flavor profiles from France, India, Greece and Thailand. Signature dishes are available every day, including the popular Dashi concept — a rice or noodle bowl topped with Asian-inspired beef, sesame tempeh or hickory-smoked chicken with edamame beans, bamboo shoots and shiitake mushrooms in flavorful broths such as lemongrass chicken or orange miso.
• The Pastry Place: Fresh-baked, house-made desserts such as salted caramel tarts, marshmallow crunch brownies, chocolate chunk cookies and assorted muffins are available here. Gluten-free and allergen-free options also are available.
• Rise and Shine: An array of daily-made pastries are available here, along with fresh juices, a variety of milks, and fresh fruit and yogurt parfaits with slivered almond, chopped walnut and granola toppings.
• Terra Verde: Fresh seasonal ingredients to build your salads are available here, along with chef-inspired features of the day and soups made from scratch. Available ingredients include hummus, pickled and roasted veggies, nuts, seeds, mixed leafy greens such as arugula, Boston and buttered lettuce, and more.
• The Zone: Dishes are prepared without the top eight allergens (milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans) and are delicious and flavorful. Some dishes served here are chicken bacon cacciatore, mojo grilled chicken wings and Singapore noodles.

Creative Dining Services also will operate a coffee shop in the Learning Commons, which will offer various blends from Detroit-based Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company, including an exclusive Bulldog Blend. Various artisan beverages such as iced brown sugar oat milk espresso, caramel macchiatos, matcha green teas, chai lattes and iced coffees also will be available.

The Battenberg Cafe Order Window will be open in the afternoon and on select evenings offering personalized pizza and a specialized menu made in our new Marra Forni Neapolitan brick pizza oven. 

B.J’s Lounge & Grill will be open in the Campus Center on select nights. Its menu includes chili, boneless wings, street tacos and smoked pork carnitas nachos.  

Einstein’s Bros Bagel eatery will remain open throughout the week at University and Chevrolet avenues, across the street from the Campus Center. Einstein’s will also receive a minor face-lift in the near future.