A construction worker puts the finishing touches on a portion of the new Lopata Hall dining facility. The eatery is scheduled to open in February within the newly renovated Lopata Gallery.

The new eatery housed at Lopata Hall in the School of Engineering & Applied Science will open around Valentine’s Day and will provide a more convenient dining option for engineering students, whose meal choices are currently limited to Holmes Lounge, Steinberg Café and Cheap Lunch, a meal of pizza, soda, cookies and chips that is provided on Wednesdays by the engineering student council.

The new facility will replace a food cart that served soups, chili dogs and pre-packed meals. The cart was removed prior to the start of construction.

Einstein Bros. Bagels is set to open in Simon Hall on Jan 31., just a few months after its initial November completion date. The full-service franchise replaces a food cart similar to the one in the engineering school.

Engineering sophomore David Morin currently leaves the engineering complex for food.

“It’ll definitely be more convenient to walk downstairs to get food than to have to walk over to the library or Subway,” Morin said.

The dining facility will be the result of collaboration between the students and the faculty.

According to Nadeem Siddiqui, resident district manager of Bon Appétit Management Company, the menu and hours of the new Lopata facility were chosen by a focus group comprised of engineering students. Bon Appétit runs the on campus eateriers for Washington University Dining Services.

“The location is wonderful, and the space itself is very attractive,” Siddiqui said. “In the past, there wasn’t much space for people to sit down and be comfortable, and the new hours will also help draw in students.”

According to Siddiqui, the menu, which features sandwiches, wraps, grab-and-go options, specialty coffees, bakery items and more, should bring in a lot of students as well as help to decrease lunch crowds at the DUC and Holmes Lounge.

The hours of operation for the eatery have yet to be released.

Although the new dining option is located in the same building as Cheap Lunch and targets the same group of students, Cheap Lunch organizers aren’t worried.

“People like their cheap pizza” said Adrienne Knapp, the director of Cheap Lunch. “I have a good feeling about it, and I don’t think our sales will decrease.”

Knapp and the other organizers have no plans to change Cheap Lunch.

“We once tried a specialty lunch, and it didn’t work out,” Knapp said.

“I don’t think the two will compete because Cheap Lunch is kind of an institution—it’ll just last,” Morin said.

Engineering students are not the only ones who will be experiencing changes in their dining options.

Students and administrators in the business school are also excited for the opening of Einstein Bros. next week.

Brian Bannister, associate dean for finance and administration at the business school, said that Einstein Bros. was selected after a group of students focused their practicum project on food services.

Bannister is also confident about the student response to the new Einstein Bros.

“We’re not only providing a full Einstein’s but also a new café environment,” Bannister. said “It’s located on the south side of Simon where there’s lots of nice windows and a lounge area—it’ll be a great place to hang out and relax.”

“Before break it was pretty empty, so it was surprising to come back to school and see it looking great” said Moira Smith, a sophomore in the business school. “It seems like it’ll be a really good lunch place.”