By Jeff Hunter ’96

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Utah State aimed high with its major renovation of The Skyroom dining area. And by all accounts, the university hit its intended target when it came to breathing new life into the iconic space on the fourth floor of the Taggart Student Center.

“Most people are blown away because it’s so different from what it was,” says Dining Services Executive Director Alan Andersen. “Usually when you say ‘remodel’ around here, it’s replacing the carpet, maybe some seating, and put a little paint on the walls. But we gutted it from the top of the roof, all the way to the floor.”

While there is certainly some new flooring and a lot of fresh paint in the reimagined space, the reconstruction of the full-service restaurant also included knocking down some walls, building new ones, and moving the bathrooms. And the blue, beige, and gray color scheme and contemporary lighting features help create a modern feel that makes the dining area completely unrecognizable from any of its previous incarnations.

“It’s so totally different that when people walk in who have been to The Skyroom before, it takes them a little while to try and orient themselves,” Anderson notes with a smile.

Originally a student lounge and dance area when what was known as the Student Union Building opened in 1953, The Skyroom was first remodeled into a restaurant in 1969. From there, the space stayed relatively the same until a second major re-design in 2015. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of the restaurant, other than special events, in the spring of 2020, and plans for a complete remodel started about two years ago.

 AJC Architects in Salt Lake City and Daw Construction Group in Draper took on the project, and the new-look Skyroom officially opened in early October following a soft opening earlier in the fall. The upscale dining experience is now open to both the USU community and general public, Mondays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Fridays 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. In the evenings, parking is free for patrons in the Big Blue Parking Terrace directly north of the TSC.

While the restaurant, which features an open-presentation kitchen, is closed on the weekends, the space is available for campus events and private functions on Friday evenings and Saturdays.

“It’s open to everybody,” reiterates Andersen, who has been at USU Dining Services since 1989. “Our primary market is to provide a nice environment, and a place for faculty, staff, and students on campus. But we also hope that you bring your family back and enjoy a very nice dinner. I think it’s a great menu and a great value.”

The Skyroom menu boasts light breakfast fare in the mornings — fruits, breads, scones and croissants, along with coffee, tea, juice and hot chocolate — and a soup-and-salad bar at lunch and dinner. The restaurant’s tagline is “Escape the Ordinary,” which leads to the “Not Your Ordinary Bologna” grilled artisan sandwich, along with garden focaccia and grilled chicken sandwiches, in addition to several stone-fired artisan pizza options.

The menu also includes entrees like chicken parmesan, linguine, salmon, sirloin steak, and braised short-rib stroganoff. The Skyroom does have a kids’ menu with pizza, pasta, grilled cheese and chicken-and-mac meals, as well as an impressive selection of desserts, including chocolate torte, brown sundae, cheesecake and USU’s beloved Aggie Nut Roll.

“Right now, it’s an awareness thing that is typical of any restaurant,” Andersen says. “And even though the space has always been there, it is a brand-new restaurant, a brand-new concept. Everything about it is brand new, so that makes it very unique.

“Our hours are different, our type of service is different, and the menu is totally different. Everything about the place is different, and we’re creating awareness of that, slowly but surely.”