Food lines at the Binz have dwindled this semester as students crowd the Anderson Student Center to eat at the new food venues.

The shorter lines have some students wondering about the future of the Binz on South Campus, but Binz Location Manager Andy Casale said that he is not concerned.

“We’ve seen a decrease in business, but nothing that’s surprised us,” Casale said. “It’s going to take a certain amount of business away just because of the newness of it. Our business is right where we thought it would be.”

Senior Bo Bodnar said that he has been to the ASC’s The View almost every day for lunch because he can go back to the Binz whenever he feels like it.

“Right now, I’m feeling the The View,” Bodnar said. “I’ve just been kind of enjoying the new student center.”

Freshman Pierce McDowell said that he will still make the trip to the Binz.

“It’s hard to say which one I enjoy better,” McDowell said. “I love the Binz, and they’ve got a different option every day with Mary’s sandwiches. The student center is closer, but I would definitely come to the Binz as long as it’s not too cold.”

Casale added that although the Binz is not new, it is unique.

“I think that the Binz has always been able to reinvent itself and find a niche where it needs to find one,” Casale said. “There’s a lot of things that we can offer here that even with the enormity of that place, they can’t.”

One of the things that differentiates the Binz from the new student center is it has Mary Duffy and her sandwiches. Better known to students as “Mary the Sandwich Lady,” Duffy has worked at the Binz for nine years and has developed a strong rapport with students.

“In general (the Binz) is a more unique atmosphere. We’re warm here, friendly and inviting. It’s a sense of community here with all the employees,” Duffy said. “For me, I look at the Binz as the other great place to eat at UST.”

Duffy said that she also tries to bring that sense of community and intimacy to her sandwich line.

“I could have a hundred people in my line, but I never look to the back of it,” Duffy said. “I only try to look at the person in front of me, and I try to be present and be mindful for those 30 seconds with them. I do really honestly care for them.”

When asked if she would be willing to move into the new student center, Duffy said, “I don’t think I’d ever move over there. I like all the people I work with here. It’s just a nice, sweet little spot for me.”

Both Casale and Director of Dining Services Todd Empanger described Mary as a fixture in the Binz.

“She puts her menus on post-its,” Casale said. “Over there, they use a digital menu board. If we moved her over there, it wouldn’t be the same experience.”

Like Casale, Empanger is also confident that the Binz will remain successful. He said he has seen a decrease in students eating at the Binz, but it is starting to level out.

“People eat there a couple days, then they eat here a few days,” Empanger said. “The Binz is kind of a special place. Andy (Casale) and Carol (Uhlich) take pride in what comes out of there. Knowing Andy, he’ll be looking at his menu layout and design and playing with it a little bit to try to do his best.”

Casale said that the Binz plans to unveil its new feature called “Finish Plate” soon.

“It’s really kind of new to student dining everywhere,” Casale said. “We actually hand you a plate of food that’s entirely finished, as you would get it in a restaurant. You don’t have to walk out to some condiment bar and finish your own thing. Only a couple schools nationwide do it. But we’ll do it even better.”

Casale said that a sneak peek of Finish Plate is available at T’s at the Action Station, but it is not the only new feature the Binz will try.

“We’ve got a lot of promotional stuff that we’re going to be doing, and people should definitely be watching out for it on our Facebook page,” Casale said.

Amanda Ogbuehi can be reached at ogbu0322@stthomas.edu.