The LSU Board of Supervisors finance committee voted on Friday to approve a contract with higher education dining company Chartwells that promises nearly $39 million in investments into LSU’s dining system.
The plan includes changes to the meal plans, renovations of the 459 and the 5 dining halls and an all-new dining area called the Headhouse in the Greenhouse District (the area near Camellia and Azalea halls).
The contract is pending final approval by the full Board, but if it passes, it will go into effect on July 1. 
“We have a wonderful deal. It’s going to upgrade three campuses and provide wonderful services for folks who are matriculating at the three campuses where this contract will be in place,” said LSU President William F. Tate IV in an endorsement of the contract. “It’s a sustainable 10-year revenue generation contract. This is called winning.”
Here’s some of what students may see from the new contract:
Meal exchanges
Starting in the academic year 2023-2024, meal swipes will be assigned a value of $8.50. What this means is that if a student’s meal at a specific location amount to $8.50 or less, they can elect to use a meal swipe as payment as opposed to paw points or cash. This could be done a maximum of once per day.
Available locations for this would include Red Stick Subs, Bowl Life/Geuax Halal, Sonic, Einstein’s, Zippy’s and the Student Union meal of the day.
Notably absent from the options are student favorites Chick-Fil-A and Panda Express, who are currently unable to accommodate the meal exchange system due to already sky-high demand at each location. The Board added that one day they might be able to accommodate meal exchanges at these two if additional locations were to open on campus.
459 And 5 renovations
The contract also calls for extensive renovations to the 459 and 5 dining halls, with a common theme being additional open space and higher capacity. Also of note is a WOW Wingery being incorporated into the 459, in a manner similar to how Popeyes is in the 5.
Headhouse
The only new construction project, the Headhouse, will be a common featuring two restaurants just outside Camellia and Azalea halls where the currently dilapidated greenhouse sits in what the university is calling the “Greenhouse District.”
Louisiana emphasis
The new contract will put an emphasis on Louisiana cuisine, leaning heavily on local chains and suppliers to source students’ meals. The contract will also enter into a partnership with the Dooky Chase brand, with the intent that the brand of the famed late New Orleans chef further showcases Louisiana cuisine to the LSU community.
Both the contract’s price and process drew the ire of some supervisors.
“There’s a better deal for LSU in this. Clearly there’s a better deal. [Chartwell’s] costs for just the meals for what I read out, for the semester, is under $5 million…We pay them for that $15 million. This contract should not be approved today,” said Supervisor Jay Blossman Jr., who advocated for another round of negotiations to push the price down.
Blossman wasn’t the only one skeptical of the plans.
“The idea that they get some type of credit for proposing capital outlay improvements when they’ve had the contract for at least 20 years and could have done capital outlay improvements at any time during that 20-year period, but have not, but now they promise gift backs to get the contract? It strikes me as not the best deal LSU could make,” said Supervisor Rémy Voisin Starns.
The Board will meet again on June 15 in the LSU University Administration Building in Baton Rouge.
Correction: The original version of this article erroneously stated the full Board voted on the contract. Only the finance committee voted on the contract. It also misstated the name of the company as Chartwell’s instead of Chartwells. The updated article reflects this. We regret the errors.

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Mock up of new Headhouse dining area presented to the Board of Supervisors on April 21, 2023.