Customers responded with mixed feelings Thursday to the recent reopening of the Memorial Union Der Rathskeller's restaurant, which made changes to its design and menu.
Entering the sleeker, more modern looking restaurant, students will immediately notice a change to the ordering process, which involves receiving a pager that indicates when their food is ready.
Rathskeller General Manager Daniel Granat said customers have had differing opinions toward the remodel and ordering process, which he said is intended to make the line move quicker.
While UW Senior Griffin Garcia said the new design produces a less "friendly and relaxed" feeling than the old model, UW alumni and past Rathskeller employee Bob Sorenson felt otherwise.
"You've got a lot more room now, and you have a lot more selections," Sorenson said. "We utilized less room [in 1969] and they've expanded out quite a ways here."
Despite mixed feelings toward the design, Granit said most customers have enjoyed the "fresh" new cuisine with an increased German influence. New German cuisine includes fries topped with pork, called Currywurst, a new version of the Kronjuwel Burger topped with a smoked mustard mayo aioli and Bratwurst.
"Everybody's really liking the quality," Granat said. "Things are taking a bit longer right now, but we're trying to work out the kinks."
Garcia, however, felt otherwise. While he said he noticed the shift toward a more "gourmet" style of food, he did not think it tasted any better.
"It seemed like the prices went up for the marginal increase in food quality," he said. "It just seemed liked it was kind of a waste of money.”
