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Friday, March 29, 2024
NEWS  |  CAMPUS

A look at new businesses in Reitz Union: Wing Zone, Game Room and more

<p>Specially selected students, who were chosen as part of a test group to help Wing Zone employees train for their first day open on Friday at 4 p.m., eat wings and fries at the new Union location Tuesday. About fifty people were chosen for each test group, of which there were four on Tuesday and will be more on Wednesday.</p>

Specially selected students, who were chosen as part of a test group to help Wing Zone employees train for their first day open on Friday at 4 p.m., eat wings and fries at the new Union location Tuesday. About fifty people were chosen for each test group, of which there were four on Tuesday and will be more on Wednesday.

With the Reitz Union’s ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday will come several new businesses and student organization offices.

The expansion of the Reitz, which started in Fall 2013, means students will be able to access spaces closed since then.

Theses space will include the Orange and Brew, the Reitz Union Game Room and office spaces. 

Wing Zone and Orange and Brew

When the Orange and Brew reopens, students will be able to get chicken wings through a new partnership with Wing Zone.

The space will have a 150-person capacity with a small stage, said Eddie Daniels, the executive director of the Reitz. It will host programs by Reitz Union Board Entertainment. 

There will also be TVs, wrote Jill Rodriguez, the district marketing program director for Aramark, in an email.

“I think it’s going to be a great hang-out space,” Daniels said. 

The restaurant will serve original and boneless wings in more than 15 different flavors, Rodriguez said. Orange and Brew will also serve burgers, sandwiches, salads and other dishes. 

Bottled beer and wine will also be available, she said. The restaurant will accept Flex Bucks and declining balance.

“Gator Dining is very excited to welcome Wing Zone to the Reitz Union,” Rodriguez said.

Reitz Union Game Room

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UF’s game room reopened Monday with 14 bowling lanes, 10 billiards tables and two foosball tables, Daniels said. 

Space from the room was taken for the adjacent Orange and Brew, he said.

“We had to carve out some room from the kitchen from the game room,” Daniels said.

However, the game room has new finishes, including updates to the floors, lighting, billiard tables and bowling equipment.

“The place will look like it’s a new game room,” Daniels said.

The planners designed the room around a Gator-spirit theme, he said. This includes custom-made carpet with a gator-skin pattern.

“We wanted to make the game room uniquely UF,” Daniels said.

Student Activities and Involvement

Student Activities and Involvement is now on the second and third floors of the Reitz, said Tori Remington, the SAI marketing coordinator. The new offices will have a graphic design and copy center, she said.

On the second floor, the office will provide graphic design services to student organizations.

SAI will also have 21 open office spaces for student organizations, she said.

“We are lucky to be in a collaborative space,” Remington said. 

Student Government

UF’s new Student Government offices are on the third floor of the Reitz, and the new Senate chambers will be on the ground floor. 

Student Body Vice President Kevin Doan said he is impressed with the space.

“It is a lot more collaborative,” he said. “There is a lot more space to have meetings and get your work done.”

Multicultural and Diversity Affairs

The Multicultural and Diversity Affairs suite will have offices for LGBTQ+ Affairs, Asian Pacific Islander American Affairs, the Institute of Black Culture and the Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures.

Each institute has decorated its own space with colorful posters and flags, said Ivelisse Birk, a UF graphic design junior. Outside the offices, there are couches and tables.

“It’s nice we are all here together,” she said. “It makes for better communication.”

Contact Meryl Kornfield at mkornfield@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @MerylKornfield

Specially selected students, who were chosen as part of a test group to help Wing Zone employees train for their first day open on Friday at 4 p.m., eat wings and fries at the new Union location Tuesday. About fifty people were chosen for each test group, of which there were four on Tuesday and will be more on Wednesday.

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