Panda Express opened on campus Wednesday after construction delays pushed the projected date back several months.
Officials first announced plans to replace the former Beefsteak location with a Panda Express on I Street in April 2024, its slated opening date set for fall 2024. But after months of construction-related delays, Panda Express opened Wednesday and will accept both dining dollars and certain meal swipes, according to University spokesperson Julia Garbitt.
Garbitt said students on the All Access and Revoluntionary 85 Meal Plans can use one meal swipe per week. Students on other meal plans can use dining dollars as a form of payment, she said. Students on the All Access and Revolutionary 85 meal plans get one entree, a side and small fountain beverage with their swipe, according to signage posted at the restaurant.
Despite the weekly swipe limit, students lined up down the block to use their flex swipe at the restaurant on Monday evening, two days before the restaurant’s official opening date. Panda Express opened for abridged hours last weekend, and Seth Weinshel, the associate vice president of business services, said at a Campus Plan Advisory Committee meeting on Monday that it served about 450 patrons on Sunday.
Current available menu options include fried rice and chow mein, with an option for a protein, like orange chicken, beef or a vegetable substitute. Meal swipe holders can choose between a canned beverage, water or a fountain soda.
Emily Saffer, a first-year majoring in political science and psychology, said while she is fine with the limit of one meal swipe per week, she’d like to see more entree options included in the bowl.
“I think it’s fair considering how popular Panda Express is and how much people are possibly going to be going, to have it once a week,” Saffer said.
Olivia Julian, a first-year majoring in psychology, said she hopes Panda Express signals that GW will collaborate with more chain restaurants on campus, adding that she’d like to see others like Cava on campus.
Officials at a meeting Monday said said the Chick-fil-A is slated to open in the coming months.
“Maybe in the future, we’ll have more chains come in,” Julian said.
