Southside Smoothies celebrates its opening day in Kelly Commons JOSHUA REICHARD/THE QUADRANGLE
Joshua Reichard & Riley Kopceuch , Asst. A&E Editor & Contributor
Last week, Manhattan University (MU) welcomed a new dining option to campus. Southside Smoothies, a grab-and-go smoothie bar opened for business in Kelly Commons.
“Southside Smoothies welcomed the MU community with free samples, giveaways and plenty of excitement during its grand opening,” Gourmet Dining wrote in a statement to The Quadrangle. “In its first week, the new location served approximately 500 orders, giving the dining services team an enthusiastic first look at what students are looking for from the new concept.”
The new location operates in the space formerly occupied by Starbucks, which sat vacant for the 2025-26 school year. The fast-casual spot is open every weekday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. At Southside Smoothies, students can build their own smoothies and acai bowls or select from the preset menu of smoothies with names inspired by MU.
The Quadrangle spoke with members of the student body this week around campus to get their honest opinions on the new dining option. On the location’s opening day, reviews were mixed with students excited about the new campus option, but disappointed with the execution.
Brianna Quiros, a junior civil engineering major, gave her review on her “build your own” smoothie.
“[I ordered] Greek yogurt with pineapple juice, strawberry, pineapple and lime,” Quiros said. “It’s not too sweet, which I appreciate, but you can add sweeteners. I saw an option for that.”
As a recent transfer student, Quiros appreciates the new campus option.
“I’m a transfer [student] so this is my first time trying anything from Kelly Commons, but I’m impressed, it’s very good,” Quiros said.
Quiros also suggested that the smoothie spot should have more inclusive options for students with dietary restrictions.
“A suggestion I have is that when ordering on Grubhub, there should be a place where you can take out certain ingredients of the pre-made smoothies rather than having to go in and make your own, for those who have dietary restrictions,” Quiros said.
While Quiros’ comments remained more favorable, other students voiced criticism of Southside Smoothies.
Cassia Mbungu, a senior public health major, was disappointed with the long wait time she experienced on opening day after placing an order for an acai bowl.
“I ordered about 30 minutes ago at this point, and I still don’t have my food, but I have class and I have to go,” Mbungu said. “I don’t know if my food will be here when I come back.”
Mbungu, although disappointed in the wait time, was compassionate to the fact that the establishment had only just opened.
“I’m going give it a little grace because it’s the first day of class, and everything’s a mess,” Mbungu said.
Some students who wished to remain anonymous also wanted to share their feedback, while expressing disappointment with the consistency and flavor of the smoothies they ordered.
“I don’t even know if I can finish this,” one MU student said. “If I could return a meal swipe, I would.”
Valentina Manu, a junior childhood and special education major, was disappointed at the size of the acai bowl, citing the high cost for the amount of food received.
“The acai bowl is really small, and [it was] two meal swipes.” Manu said. “My friends were complaining that for somebody without a lot of meal swipes or for a commuter, that’s a lot.”
The Quadrangle posted an anonymous comment box on Instagram where members of the student body were encouraged to share their opinions on Southside Smoothies.
“SCAM,” one Instagram user wrote. “The size for an acai bowl is so small, you only get three toppings? For two meal swipes.”
Gourmet Dining, the operator of Southside Smoothies, has already made changes to Southside Smoothies during its first week of operation in response to student feedback.
“Two new offerings have already been introduced following student input,” Gourmet Dining wrote in a statement to The Quadrangle. “Southside Smoothies has launched a ‘buy nine, get the tenth free’ smoothie rewards promotion, allowing students to earn a free smoothie after purchasing nine.”
Additionally, smoothies will now also be available in a smaller 16-ounce size, only costing one meal swipe.
“The location has added a new 16-ounce smoothie size, which is available as a meal equivalency for one meal swipe, giving students another convenient way to use their meal plan,” Gourmet Dining wrote to The Quadrangle.
Southside Smoothies is committed to listening to student feedback and making changes as needed.
“In the upcoming weeks, we will continue to gather consumer data to help Southside Smoothies continue to grow and evolve alongside the MU community’s needs,” Gourmet Dining wrote to The Quadrangle.