The Crimson View Bistro, a dining facility on the fourth floor of the Union, will resume business Wednesday, Sept. 5.
The installation of a sprinkler system and upgrade of the fire alarms caused the restaurant’s opening to be delayed by two weeks.
“We wanted to open properly, not under construction with holes in the ceiling,” said Reggie Conerly, resident district manager for Chartwells, the U’s contracted food provider. “The restaurant is about a total dining experience.”
Restaurant employees were re-assigned to other food-service locations in the Union.
The fire protection systems are being equipped throughout the offices, corridor and restaurant on the Union’s fourth floor. This complies with the accepted code for the State of Utah, according to Dennis Stones, inspector of the Fire Prevention Bureau of the Salt Lake City Fire Department.
After the fourth floor is complete, the entire Union will be retrofitted. The undertaking is expected to take four to five years. Student fees will partially pay for the upgrade.
For Whit Hollis, director of the Union, the construction is a matter of safety.
“The Union is the one place on campus where everyone is welcome and can find a home — a safe home on all levels,” Hollis said.
“In the three years I’ve been here, I never knew they didn’t have a sprinkler system going throughout the Student Union,” said Jeremiah Darais, a junior in computer science. “I feel safer now that I know they’re working on it.”
The Union is frequented daily by as many as 11,000 people, a sum that dwarfs the 5,000 visitors averaged a day in 2001.