Eastern Michigan University officials announced in a series of emails that the E|Dining market in Pray-Harrold is scheduled to reopen this fall, although in a different format than before.
The emails also explained that the now-empty bookstore space in the Student Center will soon house a new shop where students and fans can purchase EMU-branded apparel, home goods and more.
Pray-Harrold Market
In an email sent to students Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, Walter Kraft, the university's vice president for communications, said the Pray-Harrold market would reopen later this fall as a grab-and-go center.
“We’re committed to continually evaluating and improving your experience, and we’ll keep making thoughtful adjustments to better serve your needs,” university officials said in the email.
When students arrived on campus Aug. 25, 2025, the Pray-Harrold market and three others, including the one at the Student Center, were closed. This decision was shared with students in an Aug. 18 email, just a week before move-in. In that correspondence, university and E|Dining managers said the changes were made to reflect student needs.
The day after the closure announcement, students created an online petition through Change.org demanding that the markets reopen.
“They stated that this was what students wanted,” student and petition-creator Jason Folk told The Echo. “Considering the increasing backlash and the number of signatures, they were wrong. They obviously did not think through the impacts of this in the community and on students.”
The petition also demanded a town-hall style conversation with E|Dining, extended hours for the food services operations that remain open, and replacement of the restaurant-style options in the Student Center that were closed along with the markets. As of Friday, Sept. 12, the petition had 1,623 signatures.
EMU student survey highlights opposition to E|Dining changes - The Eastern Echo
Before students were informed, a Sept. 5 email sent to EMU employees from the university's communications division stated that "the changes focus on expanding services to high traffic areas and updating, modifying or eliminating venues with lower usage."
Language in the online petition claimed that the changes do the opposite.
"By removing frequently used locations on campus (The Markets) and replacing them with nothing, these changes do not benefit students. Instead, they rob students, faculty, and staff of a convenient option between classes," the petition states. "Furthermore, by removing options in the Student Center, which were primarily underused due to limited hours (not a lack of student interest), this will concentrate students in one part of campus, leading to worse wait times and a continually unsatisfactory experience."
The email to employees also said that in the two weeks since the initial market closures were announced, "Chartwells and the University have reviewed those changes and are in the process of enhancing that original plan to assure access to food or drinks across campus."
Chartwells Higher Ed. is a private company that specializes in providing dining services to higher educational institutions. Chartwells and EMU's Board of Regents signed a 10-year contract in 2016 for the company to provide food services on campus. In 2018, the regents approved an extension of that contract to 2031.
Eastern Outfitters replaces bookstore
The market in Pray-Harrold reopening is not the only change coming to campus. The email to students sent Wednesday also announced that a new store, Eastern Outfitters, will be coming to the now-empty space in the Student Center that used to be EMU's bookstore. Described as a spirit shop, the physical store is expected to open in mid-November, with online shopping expected to be available sooner, the university stated in the email.
The former bookstore in the Student Center was closed over the summer. This year, the university switched to eCampus.com as its textbook vendor, which offers all book purchases online. Eastern extended its own branding to a specific domain of the platform called the EMU Online Bookstore.
Other upcoming changes
Other expected changes outlined in the recent emails to employees and students include the following:
- Little Ceasar’s will open at the Student Center with afternoon and evening hours. Until now, Little Caesars has operated from a food truck outside Pray-Harrold during mid-day hours.
- Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee Truck will continue to serve beverages outside the Pray-Harrold building during its established schedule with E|Dining.
- A new vending spot called Grab. Go. Enjoy. will open on the second floor of the Student Center.
- The university's food services will organize and host more on-campus farmer's markets, which will accept Flex dining dollars for purchases.
- Happy Boba, which was previously in the Student Center, will relocate to PhoU at the Eastern Eateries.
- The market at the Halle Library now has self-service grab-and-go options available whenever the library is open.
- TrueBurger's menu now includes vegetarian-friendly options.
The university emails also said that in a new program, TrueBurger will donate 5% of all sales to EMU's Swoop's Pantry.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to correctly reflect the donation proceeds of E|Dining to Swoop's Pantry.
