Case Hall’s cafeteria closed down after the end of the 2010-11 academic year, most of the major structural work at the site has been completed, Nestle said.

“Really, what they’re focusing on now — and will be for the next couple months — is finishing the interior,” he said.

Nestle said work will include the installation of cooking equipment and new lighting.

When it reopens to students for the spring semester, the facility will feature four new dining stations as well as regional food offerings, said Guy Procopio, director of Culinary Services.

Most of the regional food offerings will center around cuisine from the Great Lakes region, Procopio said. Seating capacity also is being expanded to about 650 patrons, from its previous maximum of about 400.

The cafeteria will feature new dining hours, being open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week, Procopio said.

Currently, Wilson Hall’s cafeteria stays open until midnight to provide students with late-night dining options.

Procopio said he thinks the response to the new cafeteria will rival community interest in Brody Square, the $49 million cafeteria renovation in Brody Complex Neighborhood that opened in August 2010.

“Case (Hall) will (draw) a very positive response (from students),” he said.

Interest in Case Hall’s cafeteria likely will top that of the new Holden Hall cafeteria renovations too, Procopio said, mainly because of the larger size and scope of Case’s upgrades.

Holden Hall’s newly renovated cafeteria opened for the start of the fall semester with four additional food stations but similar seating capacity in the cafeteria compared to previous years.

Prenursing freshman Jessica Bonner — a Wilson Hall resident — said she would be more likely to walk the extra steps to Case Hall, but doubts other people will do the same.

“I don’t know if people will go that much out of their way (to eat in Case Hall),” she said.