To get to a variety of new pizza options at the Nebraska Union next semester, UNL students, faculty and staff will be taking the Subway.

Subway Pizza Express will fill the 682-square-foot space in the Union dining area that was recently vacated by Sbarro, UNL officials said Dec. 12. The new outlet, which serves a variety of personal pan pizzas, will be managed by Barton Development of Lincoln. Barton also manages the Subway sandwich location two doors down from the planned pizza spot.

It will be just the second Subway Pizza Express in the United States – and the first to be located as a standalone and on a university campus, said Charlie Francis, director of Nebraska Unions. The other is in College Station, Texas, near the campus of Texas A&M University, he said.

The future of the former Sbarro space had been under consideration for several months. Procurement Services filed a request for proposals in August, inviting Italian or pizza restaurants to apply to occupy the spot. After much consideration, a committee that included Union Board students, faculty, and Union and Procurement Services staff made the recommendation that the university partner with Barton to bring Subway Pizza Express to campus.

Steve Barton, owner of Barton Development, said he’s pleased to be working again with UNL – especially with a relatively new venture like Subway Pizza Express, which will employ a half-dozen toaster ovens and choose-your-own topping pizzas with a bake time of 50 seconds.

Francis said work would begin as soon as possible on the location, which is just east of Imperial Palace and two spots down from Subway. Work will continue through winter break in an effort to have the new pizza outlet open during Spring semester. The new outlet will most likely not be open when the semester starts Jan. 13, but will plan to open as close to the start as possible, Francis said.

“We’re very excited to have Barton Development as a business partner and looking forward to working with them,” Francis said. “We’re confident that the UNL community will agree that this will be a very good fit for us.”