Story By: Zoe Marcum, FS Communications Student Assistant
Vol Dining is a crucial part of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, offering Rocky Top’s finest food to students, staff, and Vol fans. Vol Dining works tirelessly behind the scenes, from bustling dining halls to easy grab-and-go markets, to ensure that all Vols have a wide variety of dining options available. One of the most recent additions to this culinary lineup is Cumberland Food Hall, which officially opened November 7th, 2025.
According to construction manager Josh Spenard, this project was almost three and a half years in the making. Construction started in March 2025 with the lofty goal of completing it by October 1st so the training teams and interior designers could move in to finish the space for the November debut. The team worked swiftly without compromising quality. The soft opening on the Monday before the ribbon-cutting received an overwhelmingly positive response, with over 500 transactions the first day, despite no publicity.
“The biggest constraint on this project was the schedule,” Spenard says. “It was quite an expeditious schedule…we wanted to get it open as soon as possible for the students and Vol community” The project team started with a “shell space” – a ground-level bare space without a concrete slab, framing, or any mechanical/electrical/plumbing. The construction team had roughly seven months to install everything the space needed to ensure time for furniture and kitchen equipment installs.. Daily coordination was required to ensure the schedule was met with approvals being granted for food-service to begin training at back-of-house when the finishing touches of construction wrapping up front-of-house. UTFS worked hard to maintain the high-quality Rocky Top is known for while giving Vols this hall as soon as possible. The space was finally completed after months of coordination, training, and teamwork.
Cumberland Food Hall showcases four locations with four unique offerings available to Vols: classic burgers from Big Orange Grill, Philly cheesesteaks from South Street Steaks, Mediterranean offerings from Athenian Grill, and the fresh Asian favorites from Zen Sushi and Wok. There is something for everyone. The space is a blend of new ordering technology and older, traditional Vol flair. Food lockers like what students know and love in the Agriculture and Natural Resources Building on the Ag campus, are installed for the Big Orange Grille, South Street Steaks, and the Athenian Grill. Zen Sushi and Wok is the only vendor with a “belly up” counter style, and Spenard says that’s to let people experience watching the food being prepared. Spenard’s favorite feature of the new food hall “Would have to be the tiered design.” He said he appreciates the way it elevates the space and opens it up, helping keep traffic smooth even during rush hours.
Cumberland Food Hall is a prime example of UTFS’s ability to coordinate under pressure. From bare concrete to bustling service, the team poured hours of effort into making this space a reality, and the response from campus has been overwhelmingly positive.