The Call Hall Dairy Bar opened up a new shop in the Student Union Aug. 21, providing students with a new way to enjoy its Purple Pride ice cream.
Last year, students voted on what they wanted to be put in the six new venues created by the Union’s renovation. The vote revealed a high demand for ice cream products. From there, the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry was approached about expanding the Call Hall Dairy Bar.
“Students wanted Call Hall ice cream at the Union,” Jayendra Amamcharla, food scientist and associate professor in the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry, said. “That’s why we put one in when they renovated the building.”
Despite being an extension of the Call Hall Dairy Bar, the menu for Call Hall at the Union is slightly different. The Union location will not serve hot food, eggs or meat. Instead, the store offers up to 16 ice cream flavors at a time, along with smoothies, floats and sundaes. All products can be paid for with Cat Cash.
Although the menu isn’t the same, the Union store will follow the same production model as the Dairy Bar.
“It’s basically a copy-cat image,” John Kessler, food service manager for Call Hall at the Union, said. “Everything from pasture to product is all represented right here at Kansas State University. It is a unique perspective of the push from farm to table, done in a very fine fashion.”
Call Hall is where Kansas State’s College of Agriculture processes all of its dairy products.
Students, alumni and members of the public familiar with the K-State campus eagerly awaited the arrival of Call Hall ice cream in the Union. The excitement translated into a good response to the store’s opening, Kessler said.
“There was very high anticipation,” Kessler said. “And that anticipation has been met with similar success.”
A major source of the hype — and the store’s ensuing success — came from students like Dane Sargent, senior in mechanical engineering.
“This is some of the best ice cream there is available in Manhattan,” Sargent said. “Having it in the Union is pretty great because now I don’t have to walk clear over [to Call Hall]. I’m going to gain a bunch of weight because of it.”
The shop’s hours of operation are 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Student employment positions are available.
