Construction of Oviedo High School’s new Commons began in the summer of 2022 and finished before the start of the new school year. The goal of the renovation was to make the Commons unique and give the students a more enjoyable lunch. The renovation includes new tables, booths, and a variety of four restaurants: The Roost, 3.14 Pizzeria, Yin and Yang Asian cuisine, and Mexology.

The Commons also includes a coffee shop, Filtered. These new additions to the commons make the experience much more exciting, and students seem to feel the same way.

“The new Commons is a lot better now,” said sophomore Alec Bridges. “There’s a lot more freedom in where you sit and the new restaurants are really cool.”

Last year’s Commons was a little bit less colorful and didn’t feel as enjoyable. The new addition of restaurants and enhanced seating gives people more freedom to sit and eat whatever they want. This year’s seniors experienced the old Commons more than anyone in school. For them, a new look to this year’s commons must make their senior year a bit more pleasurable.

“The new Commons is much better than the old one,” said senior James Davidson. “It makes being a senior a lot more enjoyable, and it’s great that I get to sit on the comfortable couches with my friends.”

Most students have experienced the environment of the old Commons, but not for freshmen. This cafeteria is much bigger than they had in middle school. For the food, they would have one, maybe two options and little to no freewill on what to eat. But now, they have multiple food options where they can choose whatever they want to eat, any day of the week.

“The Commons here in high school is a lot bigger than the one I had in middle school,” said freshman Kiana Geffrard. “I love that they have a lot of variety of food options, and having Filtered coffee makes it a lot easier to get through the day.”

There’s no one who knows the Commons more than the cafeteria workers. They have firsthand experience with the environment and how the Commons functions. They help serve the food to the students while cleaning and tidying up the Commons. If anyone knows how much the new commons has improved, it would be the people who work there.

“The students think it’s awesome because there’s not another school in the entire state of Florida that looks like this,” said Susan Manning, a restaurant director for OHS’ dining services. “We just wanna give them a nice place to be in and make them enjoy being here.”

The new Commons has been well received throughout the school. Everyone loves the new environment and the overall feel of it. The new couches and booths make the students feel much more comfortable while giving the Commons a cleaner look.

As for the new restaurant lines, it takes much less time for the students to be in line and gives them more time to eat with their friends. The variety of food gives them the opportunity to pick whatever they want, with plenty of options to choose from. The schools decision to renovate the Commons was a great decision and met their goals in making it an enjoyable experience for the students.