Although most freshmen may not realize it, returning Western Carolina students surely noticed that the old Brown cafeteria has gone under a tremendous makeover. Now called the Cat’s Den, this eating establishment has vastly improved according to many students.
Like most of her friends, Erica Jones, a Junior at WCU, is pleased with the transformation of Brown cafeteria into the Cat’s Den. Not only is the new cafeteria a dining location, but it is also a leisure spot for students. “I’m not a fan of ‘All You Can Eat,’ but with the added games like DDR, I like eating there more,” admits Jones.
The Cat’s Den is open from five to eleven, seven nights a week. The new student leisure area is a joint venture with Aramark, the University Center and ResNet among other groups. The building still serves as a cafeteria and offers students a variety of foods, from pizzas and hot wings to sandwiches and salads. The popular C3 store is also still open and continues to be a popular retail location. However, the new addition that students are getting excited over is the new game room.
The game room includes at least one dozen arcade games, including games such as PacMan and DDR, as well as two pool tables, a foosball table, a ping pong table and one plasma screen television with a Nintendo Wii. At the moment, students must use quarters in order to play the games, however, future plans for the Cat’s Den include an upgrade in which students will be able to swipe their Cat Cards and use Cat Cash to pay for the games.
Eric Margiotta is pleased with the final outcome of the Cat’s Den and hopes students will enjoy this new on-campus leisure spot. “We’re planning to get another plasma screen along with either an Xbox 360 or a Playstation 3,” Margiotta adds.
There is available seating all around the building and there are televisions in the dining area as well that keep track of all the latest sports updates. Sports schedules, along with historical shots of the campus, can also be found lining the walls of the Cat’s Den. In addition, wireless access is now available throughout the building as well as the outside patio.
Not only is the Cat’s Den a popular spot for students to spend their free time, but it is also the location of the ResNet office as well as the recently moved Base Camp Cullowhee office.
For more information on the Cat’s Den, visit the Dining Services website at: http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSSE/WesternCarolina.
