Marty's Place, College of CharlestonNapoleon burgers, mac ’n cheese, beet and sweet potato chips, loaded baked potatoes: That’s just a taste of what’s on the menu at the College’s new kosher vegetarian/vegan dining facility, Dr. Martin Perlmutter Dining Hall, known on campus as Marty’s Place.

Featuring curved ceiling details, cool pastel colors, an entry wall of Jerusalem stone and some outdoor seating, the 5,000-square-foot dining facility occupies the first floor of the extension to the Sylvia Vlosky Yaschik Jewish Studies Center on Wentworth Street and is open to the public.

“We want people to come in from off the street for a cup of coffee. We want the community involved,” says Marty Perlmutter, director of the Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program and the restaurant’s namesake. “What I’m hoping is that it becomes a center for people who are concerned about what they eat – a congregating zone for those people to come and feel that they’re on a comfort level with likeminded people.”

A gift to the Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program from several donors, including Norman and Gerry Sue Arnold and Anita Zucker, Marty’s Place observes kosher dietary laws and serves vegan and vegetarian dishes – making it the perfect choice not just for the Jewish community, but for anyone looking for good food without the meat.