Story by Harrison Dover, WVU Dining Services Communications Intern
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it became very important for restaurants to have online ordering for to-go meals in place. WVU Dining Services was prepared for this online ordering shift as well.
GrubHub currently operates as one of the most prominent food delivery services in the country. At West Virginia University, in light of the platform being very popular with students and staff, WVU Dining Services offers the option to attach your WVU ID to the Grub Hub application. Whitley Warbel, marketing specialist with WVU Dining Services, works directly with GrubHub to put the service in WVU’s most popular dining locations.
“We wanted to offer students, as well as faculty and staff, the option to not have to wait in line, so there's the convenience factor,” Warbel said. “Online ordering has become such a huge part of not just the pandemic, but before the pandemic as well; students don’t have time to wait for Chick-fil-A or Which Wich for 15 minutes in between classes. They have to run from one class to another, so this allows them to allot a pick up time and skip the line.”
Which Wich at the Mountainlair is the busiest GrubHub location currently, with Park Place being a close second. Even with all the popular and established locations, Warbel is always on the lookout for new possibilities, even with a light at the end of the tunnel for the reopening of previously closed locations.
“We are constantly re-evaluating to see what could be a hot-spot location,” Warbel said. “It is quite dependent on locations being open throughout campus and how many students are on campus. We're definitely always looking to expand or reopen locations that were previously open.”
GrubHub offers their services for the following locations on the Morgantown campus:
- Which Wich and Jazzmans in the Mountainlair
- Which Wich at The Market @ WVU
- Hugh-Baby’s at Evansdale Crossing
- Park Place at Oakland
- Lyon's Den at Lyon Tower
Evan Jacobsen, general manager of WVU Dining Services, helped make this option a possibility in accordance with the eating habits of students and staff in today’s dining landscape.
“Our relationship with GrubHub gives students an opportunity to have another avenue of ordering that's not just face-to-face, and that’s been crucial during the pandemic,” Evan Jacobsen
“In the real world when people are busy, the fact that they have the ability to dine with their favorite eateries all while picking it up pre-prepared is an essential piece to building trust with students.”
The online ordering process just takes is a few steps to get started. Once the GrubHub application is fully downloaded, select the settings gear icon in the top right corner. From there, select campus dining and add your affiliation to WVU campus in the search box. Once all of these steps are complete, you will have the ability to add your WVU ID number to the app with the same steps as Duo Mobile.
Credit and debit cards can be attached toward payment, or you can use Mountie Bounty while dining with GrubHub on campus. For more instructions, visit the Dining Apps page.