Students will soon have a new reason to say bon appetit to dining on East Campus.
Plans are under way for a French-themed outdoor dining area to open this March in the patio area next to the Marketplace, said Director of Dining Services Jim Wulforst.
Freshman Duke Student Government Senator Michael Lefevre came up with the idea for the outdoor dining space, which will be called "Le Marche"-French for "the market"-and began collaborating with Wulforst on the project in November.
"I really wanted something different from Trinity and the Marketplace," Lefevre said. "So I thought, wouldn't it be neat to have a French atmosphere."
Students will first swipe into the Marketplace, then get their food and take it outside to eat.
In March, students will be able to access the outside eating area through an emergency exit door off the Marketplace, Wulforst said. Eventually a sliding glass door leading to a deck will be built as the entrance to Le Marche as a replacement for the door.
"I envision this as a place where students could go on a Wednesday night with little tables and French chairs and strung lights," Lefevre said.
The outside eating space will be open 24/7, year-round, with space heaters in the wintertime, tables with umbrellas and potentially a canopy to shelter the entire space from poor weather, Wulforst said.
"I think [Le Marche] would be amazing," freshman Taylor Burke said. "I would go out there, especially during the spring."
Freshman Zack Isaacs, however, said he is skeptical that students would fully utilize an outdoor eating space year-round.
"I think if the weather is bad, [Le Marche] probably won't fare very well," Isaacs said.
Lefevre said the completion of Le Marche is taking longer than expected. Although it will open in March, there are still several obstacles that will need to be solved regarding the dining space, Wulforst said.
One major issue is how to let students who have already paid for their Marketplace meal back inside if they want more food. Until a better solution is thought up, students will need to take as much food as they think they want from the Marketplace and not be able to go back inside once seated in the Le Marche area, Wulforst said.
Another issue is the cost and time it will take to build a glass canopy to cover Le Marche in order to make the area weather-friendly, Wulforst said.
"We're exploring every opportunity for solutions to make it possible to have an outdoor eating area for students," Wulforst said.
The opening of Le Marche is part of a greater plan to expand dining on East Campus, including a juice bar in Brodie Recreation Center and a possible diner or von der Heyden Pavilion-like eating space above the Marketplace, Wulforst said.
The Duke University Student Dining Advisery Committee is working to create more dining options for the currently limited East Campus, Wulforst said.
The hope is that Le Marche will attract more students to eat and hang out on East and eventually be a venue for live music, Lefevre said.
Although Lefevre does not expect the opening of Le Marche to attract upperclassmen to East for dining, Burke said she believes that it may keep upperclassmen that are already on East for class there to eat.
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