Students Petition For Rice Blvd To Become Apart Of Meal Plan

Written By: Anthony Nassar

TOLEDO, Ohio — Rice Blvd has quickly become a popular dining spot for students at the University of Toledo. Its rise in popularity led to a petition to add the restaurant to the list of places students can spend their dining dollars, which are prepaid funds that students can use at certain restaurants on campus.

Rice Blvd offers authentic Japanese and Korean dining for the Toledo area, using all-natural ingredients to make a variety of menu items.

Owner Jun Park said he is grateful to students who helped make the petition happen and said that many students want to use their Rocket Card when buying food.

Rice Blvd has collected four packets worth of signatures, signaling that students are interested in having the restaurant join dining dollars.

“Our majority of customers are students and faculty,” Park said. “It’s going to be more convenient for the students.”

Park said that current discussions are happening with the administration to see if joining the meal plans is feasible.

Employee Jason Klotz said he has had students come in and express that they’d like to see the restaurant join the list of options.

“Majority of students do have dining dollars over other disposable income,” Klotz said. “I think it’s a benefit towards students and towards us because we can hire international students.”

Klotz said that they no longer have to pitch for signatures anymore, as all available pages have been signed.

Student Cat Liu said she would be happy to see the restaurant join the meal plan for students.

“I’m excited for the possibility of Rice Blvd being more accessible for students,” Liu said.

“They have great food, and I’m happy that the owners could be expanding their business to UToledo students.”

In addition, the restaurant noted that they will be closed on the last Saturday of each month moving forward.