This Texas High School Has Fast Food Stations In Its Cafeteria

Most school cafeterias and the lunches they've served through the decades haven't offered kids much to write home about. But, the students at Allen High School in Texas would beg to differ. Known as the largest high school in the state, the cafeteria at Allen High School serves as many as 2,500 meals a day over four 30-minute lunch periods a day — and it does so in more ways than one. While you might remember lining up at counters inside a bleak room of tables during your days in school, the Allen High School cafeteria looks and operates much more like a mall food court than a school lunch room — complete with actual franchises of the national restaurant chains Subway and Pizza Hut. But, the school also serves meals from its own branded concepts.

Purchased in 1999, both the Pizza Hut and Subway inside of Allen High School's cafeteria operate like any other location, just with school employees trained by the franchises as staff. Food inspections are conducted regularly by both franchises to ensure the chain's standards are being met, while ingredients are purchased from the same contracted vendors — which means everything on the menu tastes exactly the same. At Pizza Hut, students are able to choose from a variety of personally-sized pizzas with toppings, and at Subway, they can move through and across the same customizable selections the sandwich chain offers anywhere else. The only thing they can't do is toast their sandwich, for time's sake.

Fast food chains like Subway and Pizza Hut aren't the only options serving students from inside the Allen High School cafeteria. In fact, the school also offers meals from some of its own in-house brands. Caliente Mexican, for instance, offers a rotating menu of customizable tacos and nachos, while other brands like the Roost chicken station offer fixed menus featuring hot items like house-made, batch-cooked chicken sandwiches. However, with its own kitchen and production facilities right on sight, just about everything is made in-house inside the Allen High School cafeteria.

From the prepackaged and pre-made sandwich offerings at Crust and Crumb, to the hot Panini station, and from the vegetarian and home-style food coming out of Mark-It Fresh, to the ever-moving line along the Chopped salad station, clearly, Allen High School students aren't short on options. Even despite the school's exemption from the National School Lunch Program, free and reduced meals are still honored to those who depend on them. Perhaps the most interesting option inside the Allen High School cafeteria, however, is Blu — a restaurant run by students enrolled in the culinary arts program.

Following the recipes they developed themselves over the course of the program, Blu offers food made by the students, for the students. But, not only does it offer meals, it also provides an opportunity for students to develop skills and experience within the food service industry.