Students have a wide variety of toppings to choose from when ordering a poke bowl from Couch's Corner
Couch’s Corner in Lancer Plaza opened Oct. 8, giving students two additional options for dining experiences on campus: Delect-a-Bowls and Shake Smart.
Delect-a-Bowls serves sandwiches, cereal bowls and cold brew in the morning from 7:30–10:30 a.m. Then switches over to built-to-order poke bowls, where students can customize their own poke bowl with a choice of fresh seafood, chicken or tofu, along with custom sauces, fresh toppings and salad options until 9 p.m.
Shake Smart offers acai bowls, peanut butter and almond butter sandwiches, oatmeal and cold brew coffee, and a variety of healthy protein shakes designed to meet a busy college student’s nutritional needs on the go.
Couch’s Corner is located in Lancer Plaza, making it a convenient location for students to grab a quick meal before or after Chapel, as well as reducing the length of lines at other campus dining spots during rush hours.
Alyssa Heinrich, freshman music education and theater double major, said she appreciates that the campus accommodates different dietary options.
“I like the healthy options,” Heinrich said. “They give a lot of options for a lot of different diets.”
Kathryn Olsen, sophomore chemical engineering major, said she thinks Delect-a-Bowls and Shake Smart bring a valuable variety to the campus cuisine.
“I like them both, and they’re both different,” Olsen said. “I like the options they bring to the campus.”
Shake Smart was founded by two college students, Kevin Gelfand and Martin Reiman, during their junior year at San Diego State University in 2011.
Shake Smart now has 16 locations on college campuses in seven states across the U.S., including six in California, three in Arizona, two in Texas, two in Florida, one in Virginia, and a new location in Utah, with plans on additional expansions.
Rheese Vasko, Shake Smart’s vice president of operations and CBU alumna of nutrition and food science, talked about the benefits of having healthy shakes with protein, something that differentiates Shake Smart from other smoothie places.
“If you have a fruit smoothie, you might be hungry 30 minutes later, but if you have a shake with the protein powder in there, it’s actually going to keep you full for a lot longer,” Vasko said. “That’s a really great thing for college students. If you’re trying to make it through class, then you have to run around after that, the last thing you want is to have a little snack that’s not going to hold you over until lunch or dinner.”
Delect-a-Bowls is the other new dining option on campus from Provider Contract Food Service, the same company responsible for the food services on campus, such as Wanda’s and Brisco’s Cafe.
Couch’s Corner provides a positive environment that encourages students to take care of themselves and their health.
Couch’s Corner is open from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Mondays – Thursdays, 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Saturdays, and is closed on Sundays. Visit Shake Smart’s website at shakesmart.com and Provider’s website at providerfoodservice.com.
