Time for an update -- there have been some recent changes to Dinin Hall that have diminished some of its former appeal.
Let me preface this by saying that I realize there could be a lot of factors at work behind the scenes that have caused these changes. I'm simply coming at this from a customer-experience point of view.
I don't know what kind of fees Dinin Hall was charging food trucks previously (if any) to offer some of the earlier genius amenities like paying inside at a single register, but many of these are no longer part of the Dinin Hall experience. Or maybe this reduction in services is temporary. I hope it's temporary.
So, yeah, no more register inside for streamlined paying. You now pay at the truck, which kind of slows down the truck in rushes, and makes ordering from multiple trucks a little bit more of a hassle. They used to have drinks inside for purchase -- no more. Now it's whatever the trucks are carrying.
They also got rid of (again, maybe temporarily?) the little shop of local goods inside. I'd bought items from this little area on several occasions. It was perfect for picking up little gifties for office events on the fly. Awww, darn.
Also, more limited days. It used to be open all week. Now only open Thursdays and Fridays, and I think only in warm months? There's the food truck food court at the Columbus Commons on Thursdays, so I guess this is the less hectic spot for a similar fix. To be fair, though, whenever we came to Dinin Hall previously it was always nearly empty, even at peak times. Maybe creating more demand will help. And, the rotation of trucks had been getting a little stale.
(Oh, and in my earlier review -- I complained about the punny napkins. They ended up getting the BEST paper napkins in there; almost cloth-like. Those are also gone now :( )
So yeah, obviously some financial decisions going on here, which is fine. Businesses do what businesses gotta do.
Despite the disappointing reduction in services and time, Dinin Hall remains a chill place to come, get some fun food truck eats, and actually have a nice place to sit. That still says a lot. The space is still clean and warehouse-chic, if a little less attention paid to things like centerpieces and such.
Hope some of these changes are temporary! Still a supporter of this space--there's just a little less to glow over these days. read more