Campus Asian Foods and Lunchbox Café announcement

This week Murdoch University says a sad farewell to two much-loved campus food vendors.

When the Lunchbox Café closed at the conclusion of the exam period last week and when Campus Asian Foods shuts its doors on Friday, both operators will have served their last meals at Murdoch.

Such decisions are never made lightly and the University would like to provide students with some background information on the reason why these two food vendors have closed.

Lunchbox Café
Lunchbox Café has been a popular food provider on campus since 2012, tucked downstairs in a unit outside Building 460. The unit was originally constructed in 1992 as a simple coffee counter. Unfortunately, the unit requires extensive modifications to bring it up to the current on-site cooking permit requirements of regulators such as City of Melville and the Water Corporation. The required modifications include the addition of a 2,000 litre grease trap, a complete electrical upgrade and a full commercial kitchen exhaust system. The excessive costs of the works required to make the unit compliant for food preparation have led to the decision to bring the lease to an end.

Excitingly, planning is already underway to return the shop to its original roots, bringing it back into use as a small espresso bar in early 2019. Negotiations are currently underway with the preferred supplier, who are a well-liked and familiar face on campus - stay tuned!

Campus Asian Foods (Asian Food Van)
After many years diligently serving the Murdoch University community, the current owners of Campus Asian Foods have decided to retire and close the business on Friday, in advance of the summer break. Campus Asian Foods has been serving customers near Building 245 for around 20 years. 

The future use of this outlet and planning for the relocation of the Pop-Up Ref to make way for a new academic building has already commenced, providing reliable food and drink options within the eastern part of campus, close to the vet, engineering and the former Murdoch College buildings.

What to expect in 2019

As you will have noticed with the opening of the Student Hub this year, there have been many upgrades and new food and drink options on campus, which will continue into 2019. You can provide feedback on all of our food outlets online.

Murdoch University is disappointed to farewell these two businesses that have been part of University campus life and culture for many years, and acknowledges the end of a culinary era for Murdoch staff and students. However, 2019 will see the introduction of diverse new food options on campus with the opening of Burger Edge and a convenience store in the Student Hub.