On Sep. 24, Sandella’s Flatbread Café closed in order to re-locate to Bergami after a much needed space upgrade.

Previously located on the first floor of Botwinik in the Bixler quad, Sandella’s will be moving to the main floor of Bergami, replacing Pandini’s. Thursday, Oct. 1 will be the grand opening of the new location.

Training for staff members at Sandella’s began Sep. 25 in the new building. The moving in process is expected to take about a week. Although the menu has not changed, most of the equipment has been replaced or renovated.

The main reasoning behind Sandella’s moving was that it lacked the necessary space to provide for students.

In the old location, students were often found waiting in a line outside the restaurant. The hope for the new space will be to gain more room for both workers and students as well as to provide a comfortable eating atmosphere.

“Sandella’s is one of our most popular locations on campus,” said Ron Quagliani, Associate VP of Public Safety and Administrative Services. Quagliani oversees dining facilities on campus. “The location that they had, the University put it there years ago and it was really an inadequate space,” he said.

The dining facility that hosted Grill 155 and Pandini’s has been renovated to accommodate both Sandella’s and WOW Café, a new restaurant on campus.

After surveying students last year, the decision was made that a new dining location was in order. WOW Café came to the University of New Haven and gave students the opportunity to taste test their food, resulting in the new addition of the restaurant. WOW is an American grill and wingery and is known for its burgers and wings.

The shared building that WOW and Sandella’s will be residing in has several new features including high top tables which overlook Kayo Field and a new high tech soda machine. Proper HVAC and ventilation has also been installed (visit Coastal Cooling Inc website), adding to the comfortability and safety of the building.

The old Sandella’s building in the Bixler quad will be placed into the hands of Student Affairs. The use for the newly available space has yet to be determined.

Alyssa Lubbe, sophomore at UNH says that she disagrees with the relocation decision because “It moved across campus, they took a dining option away from the student body, and they took away a student favorite dining option; Pandini’s.”

There are pros and cons to Sandella’s relocating, but one thing’s for sure- there should be no more standing out in the cold, waiting to order your favorite flatbread.