University of Richmond Dining Services

Our 2025-26 Annual Report celebrates our program, our team, our commitment to campus partnerships, and our overall service to the University, while highlighting fun facts. Want to know how many pounds of chicken we serve in a year? Click to read and find out!

25-26 Annual Report University of Richmond Dining Services Annual Report for 2025-26.

As we prepare for the start of a new school year, here’s a recap of some of the moments that shaped our summer!

Each year, UR sends a culinary team to the Chef Culinary Conference in Massachusetts, where they spend a week with their peers from other colleges and universities learning about food trends, new techniques, and best practices. They also compete in fun competitions and an annual American Culinary Federation cooking challenge. This year our team won silver and bronze!

Team members traveled to the NACUFS conference in New Orleans to learn, meet and greet with colleagues and vendors, and pick up our three Loyal E. Horton Awards!

Staff research, develop, and test new offerings during the summer, then decide whether they make the menu. Look for the new Backyard Barbecue and Yakisoba bars this fall!

During the summer, our team refreshes their station training to keep their skills sharp. Here they are revisiting the art of making a great panini!

Local maker of chickpea tempeh, Chaotic Good Tempeh, visited with samples of their tempeh jerky and answered questions from our culinary team about their small-batch, whole-food fermentation process. Chaotic Good Tempeh is served on the plant life station in D-hall.

Old Tavern Farm stopped by our kitchens to share more about their sustainable and natural market farm, including a sample of their delicious harvest!

Summer is a great time to gather food photography for our retail operations and new Concessions specials!

Before we partner with a local vendor, we always taste-test their products. It’s hard work, but somebody’s gotta do it! Look for Good Vices at the Welcome Class of 2030 dinner this August!

Our culinary team learns from a mushroom enthusiast about the variety of edible mushrooms and the art of foraging.

Learning, connecting, and leveling-up! Our staff came together at the Dining Services Training Fair to strengthen the service and hospitality that makes every dining experience exceptional.

The National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS) has named University of Richmond Dining Services as the recipient of three NACUFS 2025 Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards.

Each year, NACUFS member institutions across North America submit entries in various categories. Judged by peers the best of the submissions are awarded gold, silver, or bronze. UR’s Dining Services received one silver and two bronze awards in three separate categories.

University of Richmond Dining Services Receives National Awards for Excellence Dining Services at the University of Richmond has received three Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards from the National Association of College & University Food Services.

Student Spiders!! Do you have a favorite family dish from home that might make a great addition to the menus in D-hall? Submit the recipe for a chance to have it featured during Family Weekend this fall! Submissions are due by June 30.
https://qrs.ly/1fhe1tb

What does it take to send our graduates—and their families—off in style? A lot of heart, a lot of teamwork, and a whole lot of incredible food. 🎓✨

Our retail and dining hall teams delivered a seamless, celebratory experience for 1,245 guests across two reserved-seating commencement brunches, while our catering team kept the celebration going with 55 events over the past week for 6378 total guests.

At the brunches we fired

🥩 200 pounds of prime rib + 8 gallons of au jus
🐟 220 pounds of salmon
🥔 300 pounds of potatoes
🍤 180 pounds of tiger shrimp + 5 gallons of cocktail sauce
🍳 480 made-to-order omelets
🍰 275 carrot cake mousse entremets
🍫 200 chocolate éclairs
🧁 310 Chloe cakes

Behind every plate was an all-hands-on-deck effort from a team committed to making Commencement weekend as memorable as the milestone itself. Congratulations to the Class of 2026—and cheers to the team that helped make the celebration unforgettable!

We pulled out all the stops to celebrate our graduates and their families at this year’s Graduation Brunch 🎓 From special menus to sweet moments shared together, it was an honor to help make the day unforgettable. Congrats, grads!

🎉 Exciting News! 🎉
We're thrilled to announce Tyler Betzhold as our new Executive Director of Dining Services!

University of Richmond Announces Tyler Betzhold as Executive Director of Dining Services Betzhold brings more than 20 years of experience in dining services to this role, including 17 years of service with the University.

Here’s the impact you’re helping create 🌎💚 Every plate matters—together, we’re cutting waste, conserving resources, and making a real difference.

This week, Dining Services celebrates the more than 150 student employees who help us fuel the Spider Nation! From barista to catering server, students are essential to the quality service we strive to offer our guests. ❤️ 💙

Interested in being a part of the team? We’re hiring for fall 2026. Check out the available student jobs in the link in our bio!