Freshens brings more options to Lenoir Mainstreet

Students looking to freshen up their diet might now have an answer in the recent renovations to the bottom of Lenoir Dining Hall.

Freshens, a food chain that serves a variety of crepes, smoothies and frozen yogurt, is open for business.

Scott Myers, director of food and vending at UNC, said Freshens will be a nice replacement for Jamba Juice because of its wide variety of offerings beyond smoothies.

Some students said they too welcomed the change.

“I saw that it was new, and I’m not familiar with the Freshens brand at all, but I’m very pleasantly surprised,” senior Madeline Merrill said.

“We kind of need a healthier, light food alternative as opposed to just smoothies, so I’m really excited about it,” Merrill said.

While Freshens was only open for a preview week during the summer, Myers said business during that time was promising.

“The summer isn’t always a teller of what the school year will bring, but it’s certainly encouraged us,” Myers said.

Freshens has been a mainstay at N.C. State University for several years now, Jennifer Gilmore, the school’s spokeswoman for dining, said.

“It’s very popular, very popular,” Gilmore said. “There’s always a long line at Freshens.”

Carolina Dining Services spent approximately $134,000 to convert the space, which was formerly a convenience store that has since been removed.

Lenoir Mainstreet saw other changes this summer: Jamba Juice was removed to add extra seating, and Subway was moved away from Chick-fil-A to better accommodate the area’s heavy foot traffic.

Subway has been moved to where the former location of Mediterranean Deli, which has been taken out of Lenoir, Myers said.

While Franklin Street boasts a variety of frozen yogurt places, including Sweet Frog and the Yogurt Pump, Freshens’ location offers up another advantage competitors can’t beat, Myers said.

“Those who say frozen yogurt is frozen yogurt, well, that’s obviously a matter of opinion, and I would encourage them to come give it a try,” he said.

“The idea behind the frozen yogurt was getting it here somewhere on campus where students will be during the daytime.”

Freshman Mary Page Boyd said she would definitely be a returning customer, given the how close Freshens is to her classes.

“This is one of the best smoothies I’ve ever had,” she said.

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