Dining at Bridgewater College has a long and interesting history. Students first ate in a dining hall located on the first floor of the main Virginia Normal School building. After the first main campus building burnt, students dined for many years in a second Virginia Normal School Building, commonly known as the White House. The White House stood from 1888 to 1930. In addition to food services, it provided women’s housing.
Newly built Rebecca Hall came into use as a dining hall and women’s residence hall in 1929, replacing the food services in the White House. In the autumn of 1961, Rebecca Hall switched from waited table service to cafeteria style dining.
The Kline Campus Center then came into use, replacing Rebecca Hall as the cafeteria in 1969. The KCC dining hall has since been renovated and is in continued use.
Bridgewater College also had a number of snack shops or snack bars over the years. East Hall held a snack shop from 1947 to 1953. After that, the snack shop was called “The Eyrie,” and was located in the basement of Memorial Hall. In 1969, the snack shop and grill moved to the lower level of the new Kline Campus Center. While there, its name changed from The Eyrie to the Eagle’s Nest.
Later on, The Crimson Café was located in the Wright-Heritage Link. As of 2020, drinks, snacks and light meals are served by the Smith Family Cafe', lovingly known as "Smitty's" in the Forrer Learning Commons.
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