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HUNTINGTON -- While many students and staff go to the busy food court in the Memorial Student Center for lunch, the University offers a more relaxed, slightly upscale dining option.

Located on the second floor of the Memorial Student Center, the John Marshall Dining Room offers a different buffet each weekday with a special theme buffet each month.

Each day two different entrees are offered as well as dessert, two soups and a salad bar. Customers can enjoy the full buffet for $7.25 or pay $5.50 for the soup and salad alone. Iced tea, iced water and coffee are available as drinks. The room also offers a view of the campus.

The buffet offers two to three main dishes, two vegetables and a starch. Roast chicken, Yankee pot roast and pepper steak are among the recently offered entrees. There is also a vegetarian entree offered each day such as tofu stir-fry or stuffed shells. There is also a table offering different cakes, pies and other desserts each month.

The menu changes seasonally offering heartier fare in the winter months and lighter food as summer approaches.

"This room started out as an open air patio when the Memorial Center was first built in 1971," said Chris Wellman, marketing coordinator of Marshall dining services. "In 1993 a committee was formed to decide how to make better use of this space, and a year later, in the fall of 1994, this dining room was first opened."

The room hasn't changed much since then. In 1994 the price for the full buffet was $6.95.

The room's centerpiece is a marble bust of John Marshall, the former chief Justice of the Supreme Court for whom the University is named for. The room also features a bell from the U.S.S. John Marshall submarine as well as the a picture of the famous vessel.

"The primary customers are faculty and staff who are looking for a quiet place to get away from the bustle of the cafeterias, but the dining room is open to anyone looking for a bite to eat," Wellman said. "We hold one or two special buffets a month such as the zesty taco bar and the Thanksgiving buffet. This week on we had our Appalachian feast with traditional regional food such as country ham with gravy. There are two weekends a year that we are open on Sundays. We have a Sunday brunch on Easter and on Mother's Day. The dining room is also open to parties, weddings, reunions and other special occasions. People interested in that should contact the facilities scheduling office to find out when the room is available."

The facility scheduling office can be reached at 304-696-3125.

The John Marshall Dining Room is located on the second floor of the Memorial Student Center. It is open from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and is closed on weekends outside of special events. Cash and major credit cards are accepted. No student meal plans are taken.

For more information, including a weekly menu, visit www.marshalldining.com/ or call 304-696-2544.

Paul Sebert/For The Herald-Dispatch

The John Marshall Dining Room in Marshall University's Memorial Student Center offers a full buffet lunch Mondays through Fridays.

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Paul Sebert/For The Herald-Dispatch

Paul Sebert/For The Herald-Dispatch

Purchase this photo