Mount Charles will provide food and beverages for the 14,000 students, staff and visitors. They will run all the university foodservice operations on campus, including cafes and restaurants.
Terry Woods, commercial director, Mount Charles Ireland, said: “We are thrilled to have secured this contract and our team is delighted to be working with one of the most prestigious universities in Ireland.
“We are looking forward to working alongside Maynooth University and deliver on our ambitious plan to completely transform the campus restaurants and cafes and offer something really unique to students, staff and visitors.”
The main student restaurant Phoenix has received an overhaul to become Urban Square Food CO and Urban Square Coffee CO. Also a new brand ‘POP’ has been introduced to the Arts Building to offer milkshakes, bubble waffles and ice cream.
Improvements have been made to the Starbucks café in the John Paul II Library and Mount Charles’ own Mexican street food brand, Coco Diablo, has been installed in the John Hume Building.
Michael Rafter, director of campus and commercial services at Maynooth University, added: “Mount Charles’ creativity and innovation immediately stood out for us and their understanding of our student population and campus was a strong element of their proposal.
“Mount Charles are transforming our students’ dining experience and how we engage with them. We believe that campus catering is an important part of delivering a great campus experience.
“Ensuring we have the very best catering service and value for money, quality food offer, is essential for the health and wellbeing of the university and its community."
Maynooth University was placed #50 in the global top 100 universities under 50 years old (The Times Higher Education World University Rankings).