FORT HOOD, Texas — Construction continues on Fort Hood’s — and the Army’s — first campus-style dining venue, a pilot initiative designed to modernize how Soldiers and their families dine on post.
The new facility, dubbed 42 Bistro, is named in honor of Fort Hood’s founding in 1942, when the installation was established as Camp Hood.
The former Black Jack Dining Facility, which previously occupied the site, served its final meal Oct. 17, 2025, to make way for the renovation.
Fort Hood is one of five Army installations selected to participate in the CSDV pilot program, which introduces college-campus-style dining concepts featuring expanded seating, extended hours, and diverse food options.
The initiative was announced earlier this year after the Army Nonappropriated Fund Contracting Office at Installation Management Command awarded Compass Group USA a concession contract to operate the campus-style dining facilities.
“Fort Hood is among the first installations to move forward with campus-style dining,” said Sgt. Maj. Kresassidy McKinney, III Armored Corps chief culinary sergeant major. “We’re very excited about positioning that relationship and moving forward on how the Army and Compass Group USA employ them.”
The contract represents an Army-level effort to transition select dining facilities to a commercially operated model.
Fort Hood Directorate of Public Works has overseen the project for the Army.
“It’s an Army-level contract where the Army has hired the Compass Group to come in and run a commercially operated, contracted dining facility for our Soldiers,” said Brian Dosa, director, Fort Hood DPW. “So we believe that, at the end of the day, this is going to provide a higher level of service to our Soldiers, family members, government civilians and others.”
Throughout the renovation process, Army leaders have worked closely with Compass Group USA to shape the facility’s design and functionality.
“As we’ve gone through the renovation process, Compass Group has submitted to us different proposed designs for our review and approval,” Dosa said. “And so we’ve been involved with the design itself.”
Upon completion, 42 Bistro will be the first of five planned Army dining facilities to fully implement the campus-style concept.
“42 Bistro is going to be the first of the Army’s campus-style dining venues, a pilot program where we have the opportunity to expand availability and accessibility for our Soldiers and their families across the garrison to unique concepts through action stations,” said Donna Turner, vice president of government engagement and sales for Compass Group USA.
The facility will feature five action stations, including a grill; grab-and-go meals that align with the Army’s Go 4 Green initiative; a deli featuring handcrafted subs, wraps and a panini grill; an Italian station offering made-to-order pizzas and flatbreads and a station featuring a globally inspired rotating menu with different cuisines from around the globe.
“All of that will be here within 42 Bistro to meet the needs of our Soldiers and their families,” Turner said.
The bistro will also offer a mobile ordering kiosk with 24/7 access to prepackaged chef-prepared snacks, salads and sandwiches; a coffee shop featuring locally sourced coffees and teas; a smoothie bar that focuses on functional nutrition and a teaching kitchen that will host chef-taught cooking lessons, Turner said.
The teaching kitchen will provide portable, practical kitchen skills for Soldiers and their families.
“We can teach how to use a rotisserie chicken and build X amount of days, or how to do a vinaigrette or just some of those soft cooking skills to be able to educate our Soldiers and their families on how they can improve their nutrition, not just here in the CSDV, but also when they’re at home or in their barracks,” Turner said.
Additionally, the bistro will have a food truck to meet Soldiers where they are across the garrison.
Expanded operating hours are also a key component of the new dining model. Turner said the facility will be open up to 96 hours per week, allowing for greater flexibility, including extended hours to meet Soldiers’ schedules.
Compass Group USA, the nation’s largest food service provider, brings experience from serving colleges, universities, professional sports organizations and other institutions nationwide.
“We have leveraged many of the capabilities that we have in fueling our Soldiers as athletes, very much like we fuel our professional athletes for performance,” Turner said. “We have built a team of culinary, dietitian and wellness experts that can adapt and meet those needs for our Soldiers and their families.”
Officials emphasized healthy, nutritious meals are central to the campus-style dining concept, aligning food service with Soldier readiness and overall wellness.
“We’re just really excited to be a part of this … forging new ways to improve the food ecosystem on a garrison,” Turner said. “Taking care of our Soldiers is first in the Army.”