Kendall Aronson, Campus Carrier Arts & Living Editor
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| Andrea Hill | CAMPUS CARRIER |
| Miniyar’s International Food Court offers a large open seating area. There are four different restaurants located inside the food court. |
Miniyar’s International Food Court opened on Aug. 26 on Broad Street and currently offers a variety of cuisines to the Rome community.
There are four restaurants currently inside the food court: JJ Sumo Grill, La Conquista, 3-26 Philly Cheese Steaks and Duke’s Wings. Each of these restaurants share a large sitting area with an open layout at the front of the food court. There is still space for three other food restaurants to enter the space.
Miniyar’s International Food Court is the only international food court in Rome according to Amanda Carter, the development director of Rome.
Raj Miniyar, a pediatrician, owns the building of the food court, but the businesses inside are owned individually. He created the interior of the building and continues to manage it.
“My role is to make sure the company is maintained well,” Miniyar said. “I don’t control their individual businesses.”
Miniyar said that a group of friends can go inside, each order a different kind of food and still eat together. He also wanted to make an environment where individuals could unwind, relax and have a good time, or even study and work on other things. For that purpose the building features a large common area with lots of seating .
“I wanted to offer something unique and something nice to our community,” Miniyar said. “Having different choices right in the heart of downtown was a great idea.”
Karina Rangel, a sophomore nursing major, recently visited the food court and was happy with the experience. Rangel said the food court was affordable.
“I want to go again with my friends,” Rangel said. “I want to try the Mexican food.”
Minyar said they are trying to start karaoke nights at the food court.
“We want to get more and more community involvement,” Miniyar said. “There are lots of festivals and events offered downtown, and we would like to get more integrated and in tune with them.”
Miniyar says that there is not a lot of parking in front of the food court, like other businesses on Broad Street. However, the food court will reimburse customers for the cost of parking at the 3rd Ave. parking deck, which is a short walk away.
“We wanted to create a really pleasurable, happy experience right in the heart of downtown,” Miniyar said.
Miniyar also said that he is open to suggestions from students and others for restaurants to fill the remaining spots in the food court.