Hot meals are arriving at the Parks Student Union (PSU) on Tuesday, Jan. 20, thanks to a deal between EvCC and a Mediterranean restaurant in Marysville.

Gyro One, a Mediterranean restaurant located in Marysville, has been contacting the college for some time, eager to partner with the school after Kindred Kitchen, a local Everett cafe, had backed out of a deal made with EvCC in July. Gyro One “swooped in” as Chris Carson, the Associate Vice President of Campus Operations, said. He felt like they really “wanted to be a partner with us.”

Gyro One will be known as Campus Gyro while operating at the college, in order to further shape itself around the student environment.

For five to six years, EvCC has been without a permanent hot food service, due to the effects of COVID-19. Lower student attendance led to the diminishing need for prepared meals. After the pandemic, the number of students showing up to campus was too low for a vendor to invest in.

Currently, student attendance is back to normal, and there is a greater need for hot meals. Julio Martinez, an EvCC student, said that “it would be nice to have food service,” especially since a lot of students have multiple classes throughout the day.

Shyla Leigh, an EvCC freshman, pointed out most students go across the street to get a meal.

During the fall quarter, Carson and the rest of the department had set out to find a solution. Initially, it was installing Just Baked vending machines in the cafe, and then food trucks occasionally available outside Gray Wolf Hall.

But the real solution came when Gyro One called.

One of the owners of Gyro One, Osama Al-Ramahi, alongside his wife Nisreen, said that the goal is to provide students with “good service, good food (and) let them know about our culture more.” He has a strong connection to the school as Al-Ramahi’s daughter went to EvCC.

His son may attend EvCC in the future as well, so he wants to establish something not only for the current students, but also for the students to come.

The lack of hot food service, student Rosa Medina said, is “not super noticeable, but important.” As most students have probably seen, the cafeteria where food would be served in PSU, is empty. Opposite are the line of convenient Just Baked machines, with various options from sandwiches to cookies. Even so, “It would be nice to have an actual variety of food and not just snacks,” Medina said.

Carson said the Just Baked machines, as well as the food trucks, “were always supposed to be temporary.” He also mentioned that there has always been a plan to bring affordable hot food to campus. There was a huge push to bring back students to campus and build up all the services “that they used to have; that they should have.” The problem with vendors, like Kindred Kitchen, backing out was primarily because they had decided that they “weren’t going to make enough money to justify their business.”

The eagerness of Gyro One wanting to support EvCC, as well as their history of catering for EvCC, made the decision easier. Carson, leading the front on this matter, wanted to make sure it was the right move — by visiting the restaurant anonymously and trying the food. After taking everything into consideration, including pricing and portion sizes, Carson made his decision.

“This was something that I was comfortable bringing to the students,” he said.

The menu mainly consists of gyros, salads and various plates; typical of a Mediterranean restaurant. However, Carson and the rest of his team wanted to provide a more diverse range of foods. They sent out a student poll asking what kinds of food they would want. Cheeseburgers and fries ended up being the primary result. Gyro One said the restaurant was happy to add these to their menu to meet the request of hungry students.

Prices at the Marysville location are in a range from around $6-$17, depending on the meal. Here at EvCC, those prices will be about $2 cheaper, and no dish is higher than $13. Al-Ramahi stated that one of Gyro One’s main objectives besides quality food and service is to provide affordable prices.

“Everybody has … (a) chance to support the student(s) in different ways, but this is my way to support them,” Al-Ramahi said.

Not only that, but the EvCC Eats program will also be supported by Gyro One. EvCC Eats provides meal discounts to students who are in need, and in partnership with the Mediterranean restaurant, a certain amount of gift cards will be given out.

*Headline changed to Campus Gyro: Hot food and hospitality from Who’s ready for Campus Gyro on Feb. 4