Located in the historic William Johnston Building, the Suwannee Room has long been a favorite dining spot on FSU’s main campus. Over the course of its history a number of improvements have been made to keep the facility up-to-date and up-to-speed in serving the needs of the campus. This particular project, completed in 2018, is the second of two major renovations of the building for which GRC was the architect. (For more information about the first, see Johnston Dining Hall - Suwannee Room.)

​

GRC’s tasks were to increase meal production through kitchen efficiency, add stations for greater variety in food offerings, maximize seating capacity, and improve circulation at the point-of-sale, all while providing an open dining concept that showcased Suwannee’s beautiful historic bones. The building’s longstanding prominence on campus warranted passion and diverse sentiments from various groups. Ultimately a modern storefront concept was chosen, with existing dramatic trusses and ornate paneling as the backdrop, providing a nod to the building’s past.  

 

GRC worked closely with FSU Facilities, Vice President's Office, Office of Business Services, food services consultants, and our MEP engineering consultants to ensure the design solution met FSU’s expectations. Suwannee re-opened in June 2018 after a heroic ­five-month construction effort by the construction manager.

​

Dining concepts include:

• Bakery

• Soup and Salad

• Deli

• My Zone (allergen free foods)

• GTO - grilled to order

• Grill – prepared offering

• Pizza

• International “chef’s table”

• Homestyle