Reflecting on my freshman year at Notre Dame conjures memories of many extremely late nights of studying punctuated by snack breaks for Reckers’ cheese pizza and energy-boosted smoothies. Reckers has since eliminated a few major draws, including its 24/7 hours, pizza menu, and a few other popular menu items (piadinas in particular), effectively diminishing its appeal for many students, including myself. The long time late night student hangout has officially closed its doors, soon to be replaced by Pizza Pi, which Campus Dining hopes will address some of what Reckers had been lacking in recent years.
Pizza Pi is the result of student suggestion and a collaboration of Campus Dining with Student Government to bring to campus something they believe addresses some needs and desires of the student body. The Italian restaurant is a collaboration with Freshens, which is a name that should be familiar from smoothies and shakes you may have ordered from Reckers or in the Duncan Student Center. This will be the first Pizza Pi to open through Freshens, and is not to be confused with the Pizza Pi – the pizza boat serving in the Virgin Islands (which definitely confused me during my initial googling upon hearing the first whispers of my once beloved Reckers’ replacement). It will offer craft pizzas, salads, baked pastas, breadsticks, smoothies, and dessert.
Additionally, perhaps the most exciting change coming with Pizza Pi is that they will serve alcohol. Beer and wine will be available in the restaurant on the weekends. Their hours will be as follows: 11:00 a.m.-2:00 a.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11:00 a.m.-3:00 a.m. Friday and Saturday. The restaurant is scheduled to open in May of 2018, shortly before commencement. Student government, particularly our student body president Gates McGavick, are providing very positive and excited feedback in anticipation of the new on-campus spot. They are pleased to see the university taking student suggestions to heart, allowing for the responsible sale of alcohol on campus in a safe and enjoyable social atmosphere. These details can be found here on the campus dining website.
Below is an image of what the restaurant is expected to look like inside. It has been designed to be bright and modern, centered around their new Italian pizza oven. Seating will be offered inside and outside. The patio will be revamped to accommodate the updated space, and there will be both counter seating and booths inside.
While sad to see Reckers go, I think this new late night spot has a lot of potential. In speaking to friends and dorm mates, it seems as though the plans for the space are being well received. There is predictably a lot of buzz surrounding the prospect of being able to buy beer and wine on campus. While not reported in the article I cited above, my hall’s senator informed us that the alcohol service would include a wine bar. Between the idea of the alcohol itself, a novel new hangout, and another opportunity for real food (and close to West Quad, score) outside of the dining hall, there is an overall positive vibe surrounding the addition to campus. A spot that creates both a comfortable and laid-back environment and inherently trusts student maturity with the novelty of alcohol service is very promising.
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