Decatur High’s new cafeteria opened on Monday, Aug. 22, after months of construction on a new addition to the high school.

The cafeteria is located on the bottom floor of the newest building of the school, located behind the main building, closer to Commerce Drive.

As students entered the cafeteria for the first time Monday morning, one student, junior Sebastian Fernandez, made observations about some of the new cafeteria amenities.

“I like the water bottle part of the water fountain and also the natural lightning,” he said.

Hayden Flinn, a sophomore, agreed with Fernandez on the natural lightning. He appreciated how much better the windows lighted up the room.

There are other new features in the cafeteria that Flinn enjoyed as well.

“It’s bigger and I like how it’s open more and the lunch line is better,” he said.

Charlie Hammer, a sophomore as well, also enjoyed the new cafeteria.

“It’s just cleaner and more orderly [than the old one],” he said.

This is one aspect of the new cafeteria that Fernandez did not enjoy.

“There isn’t really variety in tables, they are all straight,” he said.

Junior Alex Thorsrud agrees with Fernandez about the tables, and had other complaints.

“It doesn’t feel as comfortable as the old cafeteria and everyone could sit where they wanted to. [The new cafeteria] feels artificial and sorta like a hospital,” he said. “The old one felt like home.”

The rest of the building that hosts the new cafeteria is set to open after the City Schools of Decatur’s September break.

Photos by Jack Brock and Jon Reese