By Elizabeth Basile and Christian Lopez
Long Beach State campus restaurant The Nugget Bar and Grill is expected to reopen in Spring 2023, with modifications to the menu and ordering methods.
The Nugget restaurant was a hangout for students that closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rosa Hernandez, director of human resources for the 49er Shops, and Clint Campbell ,director of retail dining services, cited staffing issues as why The Nugget did not open sooner.
“Hiring students isn’t the hard part, students want to work,” Hernandez said. “It’s the non-students that’s the challenge in the industry.”
Hernandez said there are many positions for students at The Nugget. However, students are less likely to take certain jobs because work responsibilities interfere with academics.
“The student positions vary, so it can be everything from cashiering, taking orders, bussing tables and traditional restaurant work,” Hernandez said.
Students also have the opportunity for employment in the restaurant’s pub if they are over 21 years old.
Campbell said there would be an expanded selection of coffee drinks after they collaborate with the Caffeine Lab to add their brew to The Nugget.
However, the items on the menu will be reduced.
“Depending upon what our staffing looks like and what we’re able to do we may trim the menu down a little bit in general,” Campbell said.
The Nugget will also add the option for customers to order food through GrubHub.
“We’re experimenting with the idea of making The Nugget almost GrubHub exclusive just to help with the line and expedite the orders coming out of the kitchen,” Campbell said.
Campus reopened three semesters ago, but some students have not experienced The Nugget. However, some still remember the restaurant.
Richmond Trent, CSULB sophomore literature major, said he remembered what The Nugget was like when he visited the campus and the difference when he returned as a student years later.
“When I was in high school, I took a field trip here and they told us that The Nugget was like the biggest spot on campus to hang out,” Trent said. “But when I transferred here it was just empty.”