Friday evening, Eva J’s will serve pasta primavera for the final time.

This is because next year, the dining hall – located in Johnston Residence Hall – will no longer be open for business.

“They will close their doors at 6 p.m. after more than 20 years of loyal service to Mizzou students,” Campus Dining Services Assistant Director Steve Simpson said.

Eva J’s will be converted into a new Asian-style restaurant named Sabai. It will specialize in Southeast Asian foods from areas such as Taiwan, Vietnam, Korea and other Asian countries.

“Sabai will feature classics (like) Vietnamese pho, Banh Mi sandwiches, firecracker pork and Thai chicken curry to name a few,” CDS Executive Chef Eric Cartwright said. “All items will be priced individually, customizable and made fresh when customers place their order.”

Cartwright said one reason for this change was due to the similarity between surrounding dining halls, like Plaza 900 and Rollins. Sabai will give students a chance for a wider variety of choices in their dining locations.

“We have seen a decline in business at Eva J’s over the last few years as it is one of three all-you-care-to-eat dining locations within a one- to two-block radius,” he said.

He said an environment with flexible à la carte pricing, extended hours and a consistent product is what customers truly enjoy. Taking this into account, Sabai will be very closely modeled after Baja Grill.

Simpson reiterated this idea.

“Baja Grill consistently receives some of the highest scores for customer satisfaction of any of our residential dining facilities,” he said. “We discovered that students really liked the streamlined, branded menu that featured limited items that were well-prepared and authentic.”

CDS Director Julaine Kiehn said she believes the transition from Eva J’s to Sabai will go over well with MU students.

“We are excited about (the opening of) Sabai in August,” she said. “Students have given positive responses as we conducted taste tests and samplings.”

Along with a new dining location, students will also witness changes in the meal plan system. Next semester, students will have the option to choose between meal plans of 175, 225 or 275 for the entire semester. This is opposed to the weekly dining plans in place this year.

“All plans will be ‘block’ plans, meaning students will receive all of their meals at the beginning of the semester and may use them at any time throughout the semester,” Cartwright said.

Students will only be able to make changes to their meal plans at the beginning of each semester, Cartwright continued. Additional meals in blocks of 25 will be available for purchase to students who find that they might run short of meals before each semester’s end.

Those involved anticipate the new system as being much easier for students to handle, with weekly meal resets on Saturday evenings no longer being an issue to manage around.

The block system also clears up some red tape for cashiers and dining hall employees.

“All dining plans will use points, eliminating the need to inform cashiers as to whether you are using points or meals,” Cartwright said.

Although some changes have been made, the fundamentals of the current meal system will still remain in place.

“In the all-you-care-to-eat locations, one meal per person is deducted upon entry, just as it is now,” Kiehn said. “At takeout locations, each item is priced as a part of a meal. Prices and the balance (will still appear) in decimal format.”