Virgin Bloody Marys, grilled salmon and ice cream for brunch? As the popular saying goes, “Only at Elon.”

Elon Dining surprised students over the weekend at Lakeside Dining Hall when they unveiled a variety of expanded options for what their social media account dubbed the #BigBrunch.

Expanded options included an ice cream bar with toppings ranging from cherries to sprinkles, an omelet station and a beverage station hosting non-alcoholic drinks including virgin Bloody Marys and virgin margaritas. 

But there was a catch: this was the first weekend since the school year began when Lakeside was the only non-retail option students could visit for brunch.

In previous years, students also had the option of going to Colonnades Dining Hall, but in response to accounts showing low attendance at the dining hall last year, Pulkit Vigg, resident district manager of Campus Dining, and his team decided to close Colonnades for brunch.

That meant 1,716 students filing into the same dining hall over the course of five hours for brunch on Saturday and 1,820 students on Sunday.

Vigg said Lakeside’s capacity could accommodate the numbers at scattered times.

Still, a line wrapped around the entrance and students scoured the area for available seats.

According to Vigg, lines come at the start of every year and are not a cause of alarm.

“The first week is when students are still getting into the swing of things,” Vigg said. “It takes a while for students, especially the first-years, to understand the trends of all the dining options.”

Vigg said Elon Dining also responded directly to student feedback and is opening an hour earlier for brunch this year. Their reaction to student feedback does not end there: Qdoba is open to students on Sundays, and Einstein Bros. Bagels remains open as an option for brunch on Saturday.

“We highly value the needs and concerns of students,” Vigg said. “What we gave back last weekend is much more than what we took away.”

Junior Lexi Demetroulakos said that though the wait was longer than she had hoped for, it was worth it.

“The salmon was really good, and it was something different than what they would normally have,” she said.

Vigg said the next priority in terms of brunch at Lakeside will be to expand vegan options.