Former diner now serving as temporary classroom space

The temporary classroom space in Old Town Fairfax is a fomer Metro Diner location. (Jake McLernon)

Mason is cooking up some excitement in Old Town where the university has taken over the vacant restaurant space once home to the Metro Diner. The venue is now a "classroom" used for Food and Nutrition Studies courses.  

The Old Town building was leased to Mason after the diner closed in 2009, and Mason started holding temporary classes there this fall. Three classes are being taught at the location this semester, and next semester all advanced undergraduate and graduate courses will be offered there, according to Lisa Pawloski, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies.

Pawloski said in previous years her Food and Culture course struggled to find places large enough for students to prepare meals. For classes she taught, sometimes students would even come to her house to cook, after trying different areas around campus and making a mess.

“This is the first time we’ve had a kitchen with our nutrition classrooms, and it’s changing our curriculum, changing to focus on experiential learning,” Pawloski said.

While the former diner provides a traditional classroom setting, albeit in booth seating, students also have access to kitchens that make it possible for students to practice techniques. There are cameras that project demonstrations on a live feed.

The classes currently taught at the diner location include two full-time graduate classes, Food and Culture--which has been offered for about eight years, and Global Health Perspective on Alcohol--a brand new course.

The Food and Culture course offers students a look at why people eat what they do from a cultural perspective as well as a nutritional perspective. Students prepare dishes from around the world, explore different flavors, and even have a chocolate tasting, Pawloski said.

The Global Health Perspective on Alcohol, also known as the “beverage course,” is focused on wine and beer. Students learn how alcohol is produced, cultural behaviors around it, and its nutritional value.

The classroom is in walking distance of the main Fairfax campus and the CUE bus also makes a stop right in front of the building.

Originally there were plans to hold these classes on campus, but monetary costs and space availability made that impossible. After plans to have on-campus classrooms fell through, leasing the Old Town space was the next best option, according to Laura Manno, architect and planner for Mason.

The off-campus location is a step towards future building expansion on the Fairfax campus. Usage of the space is only temporary and plans call for the Academic VII/ Research building, which would hold the class and other courses, to be constructed on campus in about five years, if requested funding is approved.

"This building is currently our highest new building priority and is scheduled to be assigned to the College of Health and Human Services,” said Laura Manno, architect and planner for GMU said in an email. “The permanent location for the Nutrition and Food Studies program will be within this new building.”