Birthday Party Planned for UC’s Award-Winning Restaurant

CenterCourt, the national award-winning residential restaurant, celebrates a year of serving up the very best. The events include a hearty rendition of “Happy Birthday,” sung by the staff, all dressed in their party hats.

Date: 1/10/2007 12:00:00 AM
By: Dawn Fuller
Phone: (513) 556-1823

Photos By: Dottie Stover

Executive Chef Philippe Audax

UC’s CenterCourt, the all-you-care-to eat residential restaurant in the Campus Recreation Center Complex, celebrates a year of leading the nation in trends in college food preparation. The birthday celebration begins at 11 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 17, when the staff sings the “Happy Birthday” song. Birthday cake will be offered at all seven of CenterCourt’s taste stations.

Spyros Gravas, director of Board Operations, says CenterCourt not only changed trends in college dining, but was also key in the transformation of UC’s campus – offering late dining hours for students, employees and visitors who are learning, working and playing along UC’s MainStreet corridor.

The restaurant holds UC’s first brick oven for fresh breads, pizzas and pastries, as well as a Mongolian Grill that features food selections from around the world. In addressing the Campus Recreation Center’s efforts to promote healthier lifestyles, Gravas adds that CenterCourt’s “Just for You” vegan and vegetarian selections, as well as nutritional kiosks that provide information on fats, carbs, cholesterol and sodium content in food selections, make CenterCourt a standout campus restaurant nationally.

CenterCourt received national acclaim last summer when it was awarded the gold medal and grand prize in the single stand-alone concept category from the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS).

CenterCourt Birthday Celebration Schedule

All events take place in CenterCourt, located in UC’s Campus Recreation Center Complex

11 a.m. – The staff sings the Happy Birthday song
Noon – The Bearcat mascot visits CenterCourt
6-8 p.m. – D.J. in CenterCourt will play classic and contemporary hits

From 11 a.m.-8 p.m., CenterCourt will offer a special price of $5.95 for lunch and dinner on its birthday.

CenterCourt Web site (Includes description of taste stations, hours, menu and prices)
Phone number: 513-556-4116

UC’s Housing and Food Services Reports that over the past year…

CenterCourt’s most popular taste station was the World Series, which offers daily selections ranging from antipasto to French crepes to Risotto Milanese. It’s estimated that more than two million meals were served from the World Series taste station over the past year.
CenterCourt served over 700,000 guests.
Number of breakfast diners: 150,000+
Number of lunch diners: 250,000+
Number of dinner guests: 300,000+
Number of Brick-Oven pizzas served: 100,000; 12 million slices
Number of “to order” tossed specialty salads: more than 70,000
Number of “Bananas Foster” specialty desserts: more than 20,000
More than four million fresh-baked biscuits were served.
More than 60,000 omelets were made to order.
More than 600,000 stir-fry meals were ordered at the Mongolian Grill.