Lack of restaurants at Red River College Polytechnic have students frustrated

By: Autumn Fehr

Despite Tim Hortons being a Canadian staple for daily coffee runs, it’s not everyone’s favourite place for food.

At Red River College Polytechnic Exchange District Campus, Tim Hortons is one of the only options for students and staff to purchase food.

The Tim Hortons on campus is always busy and has long line-ups, said Carmen Puente, an Administrative Assistant at the Language Training Centre at RRC Polytech. This means she doesn’t have enough time to get food or coffee on her break, she said.

In the Exchange District, there are other restaurants and coffee shops available, but with limited time for lunch and breaks, there isn’t always time to go somewhere else.

Ma-an Bantiles, an Applied Accounting student at RRC Polytech, said that sometimes she wants a change from her regular packed lunch, but when that happens, Tim Hortons isn’t her first choice. 

“The line is super long, especially during lunch period. That’s another reason I don’t get lunch from Tims… It’s inconvenient,” Bantiles said.

Students and staff stand in line at Tim Hortons, at RRC Polytech on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. Tim Hortons is the only restaurant on-campus. (Autumn Fehr)

Patterson Global Foods Institute has a student-run lunch service, but its hours for hot lunch are limited. Outside of these hours, they serve cold lunch sandwiches and soup, a lunch similar to what Bantiles would normally bring, she said.

“It would be nice to have more options. Tims is nice and everything, but you get tired of it after a while,” said Bantiles.

Tim Hortons doesn’t have the greatest options for those that have a vegetarian or vegan diet, Bantiles added. 

Bantiles suggested that surveying to see what restaurants or food people prefer could help the situation.

The college said there are no plans to add additional restaurants on-campus at this time.