It’s no surprise to see small changes around campus after a long break, but some students came back to a big difference in how they get their midday meal.
Einstein Bros. Bagels operates out of Waterfield Library, making it a convenient grab-and-go location for students on the way to or between classes. Much like Tres Habeneros, Subconnection and Mein Bowl in the Thoroughbred Room, Einstein allowed students to give their order in person to a cashier or through the GrubHub app. With the recent implementation of two kiosk screens and an alternate location for finished orders, however, this community favorite seems to be turning to a technology-forward business model.
Nadia Enright, a sophomore graphic design major, has made a daily habit of getting Einstein since her first semester because she said it’s reliable and right next to her classes. She came in on Tuesday, Jan. 13, to find the cashier replaced by a touch-screen and a poster blocking the window where finished orders were once handed out.
“I had been told that they changed from ordering in person to kiosks,” Enright said. “I didn’t expect it to be the only option you had. I was surprised, but it also didn’t make a lot of sense to me.”
While Enright was familiar with similar kiosks inside Chick-fil-A and knew how to navigate to the meal exchange menu, she said other customers were having trouble finding what they needed and had to flag down workers behind the counter to ask for help. She also said the second kiosk was hard to recognize as another line to order because that is where customers typically wait for their food.
This new system isn’t just causing confusion for customers; it’s also causing big shifts in how Einstein employees operate.
Lily Becke, a senior English literature major, worked at Einstein for two years before quitting near the beginning of the fall 2025 semester. Though she has not been behind the counter for these changes, she said this new system is “adding a significant amount of stress” for her old coworkers. Previously, Einstein workers were able to prioritize orders from customers in-store and on a time crunch.
“The thing with this (system) is it doesn’t separate in-person from out-of-store orders,” Becke said. “It’s not really beneficial to college students because we’re running to class and have like 15 minutes between each class. That’s not enough time to wait for every single order that’s in front of you in the queue.”
With GrubHub processing all the orders, Becke said preexisting stressors the employees face, like irritating beeping when a new order comes in and difficult-to-read instructions, will become larger issues.
Becke said she doesn’t see many potential benefits of the new system except for a potentially better ordering experience for customers whose anxiety makes in-person ordering too difficult; however, as someone who experiences difficulty in social interaction, Enright said the kiosk system makes ordering more uncomfortable with “a screen actively preventing me from speaking to someone.”
“I am used to going in and talking to them, even if it’s just a brief ‘hello, how are you?’” she said. “I’ve gotten so used to it in a schedule where I’m able to talk to many other people. I really valued that little interaction a lot, so for it to be basically gone, it was very jarring.”
Becke said she thinks Einstein’s changes came from upper management in the University’s Dining Services without any input from floor managers or workers. Though cutting out the need for a customer service worker on shift may seem like a way to increase profits and raise wages, she thinks the advantages start and end with the restaurant’s higher-ups.
“The upper management fundamentally does not know how Einstein works as a community, as its own ecosystem,” Becke said. “It’s easy to make assumptions about how things should run when you’re not in the thick of it. I think upper management should take time to hear from the workers on the floor and their ideas.”
The Murray State News contacted Dining Services for comment. Dining Services didn’t supply answers to emailed questions by time of publication.
For Enright and students like her, such a change would feel like “one option rebranded in two different ways” because the GrubHub app already caters to those who don’t want to order in-person.
“I think I will always prefer speaking to another person rather than a touch screen,” Enright said. “For people like me who don’t like using ordering apps or enjoy talking to the employees … It feels like the option is being taken away for no reason.”
