UA News

Tikka's, a restaurant serving Indian cuisine, is the newest addition to the Student Union Memorial Center, where the U-Mart convenience store also has just received an upgrade.

Svādist khānā is the way University of Arizona Wildcats will be saying "bon appetit" after a new restaurant opens in the Student Union Memorial Center.

Tikka's, a new addition to the UA's Student Union eateries, came as the result of a series of surveys indicating students wanted a wider variety of food optioins. The results showed that about 23 percent of students were interested in Indian cuisine. 

One other change came to the Student Union this year. U-Mart – the busiest convenience store on campus – underwent a major transformation to include a new interior design to allow for more efficient customer flow and greater variety of food and snack choices.

U-Mart, located on the main level of the Student Union, provides groceries, pre-wrapped sandwiches, sushi, frozen dinners, candy, ice cream and cold drinks for sale.

Also, an Eegee's stand has been added to the store and more organic food options are available, said David Galbraith, UA dining services director.

The store was in dire need of an upgrade after having been open six years. "It was born out due to extreme traffic," Galbraith said, noting that during the academic year, U-Mart sees an average of 4,000 visitors daily.

As for the new restaurant, Tikka's will open Aug. 24 and will be located on the second floor of the Student Union Memorial Center. The restaurant will be sharing the same space and entrance as Café Sonora. Both restaurants will be open Monday through Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and from 10:30 a.m.to 3:30 p.m. on Fridays.

Offering a wide selection of new dishes and more vegetarian options for students, the new campus eatery will fuse both spice and culture.

"Truly one of the world's greatest cuisines. Fire and spice mixed with a cooling 
rain of cucumber and mango. That would be my favorite way to describe it," said Tori Christie, assistant director for the UA Student Union Dining Services.

"It 
has been a fantastic journey of culinary adventure," Christie said.

Tikka's menu includes a variety of traditional dishes that range from Bengal, a region to the Northeast of India, to Goa, which is a state with historic Portuguese influence.

Items will include chicken tikka lamb curry, masala, dal, dhanska, naan, korma, paneer, vindaloo and other choices.

Of particular note are the restaurant's prices. 

The average cost of a meal at Tikka's is $5.49, with the most expensive item on the menu – lamb curry – at $6.29, Galbraith said. 

"That's the most expensive thing you can get, so we think it worked out great," he said.

To inform Tikka's customers with terms used in Indian cuisine, the restaurant will include a glossary as well as a description of the terms used in the menu.

Following Wildcat Welcome week, which will be held through Aug. 28, there will be numerous activities to introduce this new concept to the campus community, including classical dance performances from southern India by UA's Om Shanti, a student-led dance team.