USC CELEBRATES BACK-TO-SCHOOL WITH GRAND OPENING OF THE LOT MARKETPLACE
On August 18, 2008, the University of Southern California (USC) unveiled The Lot Marketplace, a new 20,000-square-foot contemporary facility. The interim pavilion is designed to serve, and is set to exceed, the campus community’s dining needs and expectations until the completion of the much-anticipated 192,000-square-foot, $130 million Ronald Tutor Campus Center, which will debut in 2010. The new hospitality center was up and running in time for USC’s August 20th move-in day, offering students, faculty, and alumni extensive dining options including a market and eight distinctive concepts.
The structure’s distinctive dome shape, which is 39 feet tall at its highest point, will accommodate seating for approximately 350 indoors and 140 on outdoor patios that wrap around the outside of the facility. The state-of-the-art complex will be an inviting gathering and dining space featuring six 50-inch flat panel screens. Complimentary wireless internet access will be available throughout the pavilion and its patios.
Director of USC Hospitality Scott Shuttleworth is charged with transforming USC’s hospitality services to standards commensurate with the university’s world-class stature. Before joining USC in 2007, Shuttleworth was director of operations for SBE Restaurant Group and was instrumental in developing Katsuya restaurants in Brentwood and Hollywood, wildly successful concepts lauded for both their imaginative cuisine and their cutting-edge design.
Shuttleworth has assembled a unique selection of concepts at The Lot, including Wolfgang Puck Express, Baja Fresh, Submarina, ZAO Noodle Bar, Carl’s Jr., Red Mango, and a Starbucks licensee. Traditions, a pub beloved by generations of Trojans (formerly located at the Commons), will also be temporarily relocated at The Lot before settling into the Ronald Tutor Campus Center. In all, eight dining concepts, as well as a convenience market—stocked with prepared foods, beverages, and healthy snacks—will occupy the space. The building will be open from 7 a.m. to midnight seven days a week, and individual restaurant hours will vary.
In addition to the opening of The Lot, USC Hospitality will further enhance the culinary offerings for students with the Trojan Fresh Market, a bona fide farmers’market, which will be open every Thursday afternoon. The market will complement activities at The Lot, providing students with additional dining options, including fresh, locally grown produce, artisan cheeses, and freshly baked breads.
