If someone had told me last Wednesday that I would never again be able to order a BBQ chicken flatbread from Cova, I would have ordered 20 and kept them in my freezer. This was the terrifying reality that I thought awaited me on Friday. I was filled with fear when I went to order my favorite flatbread, finding it erased from the menu. I begrudgingly purchased a thin-crust pizza, the only thing even remotely similar that I could find.

One could definitely say that I was angry by the time I reached Dougherty Hall. I did not want thin-crust pizza. As a New Yorker, I know that is not what pizza should be. Then, it took so long for my thin-crust pizza to get made that I was almost late to class. And to top it off, as I tried to eat it with great haste, I burned my mouth.

I tried not to let the absence of my favorite on-campus food ruin my day. But later, as I told my friends of my sorrow, I was made aware that the BBQ chicken flatbread would, in fact, return. So, thankfully, I was just overreacting.

Yes, the horrible reality that I thought I was living in melted away, replaced by the relief of knowing that it was only a pop-up shop. For the remainder of the Fridays in April, Cova will be hosting a pop-up shop serving Jules Thin Crust Pizza.

I believe that a better warning could have been given to me. Perhaps I missed it somewhere, but I was completely unaware of the fact that the Italian Kitchen would have an alternate menu on Fridays in April. Had I known about this, I might have actually been excited to try a new food on campus.

If I am being completely honest, the thin-crust pizza was not actually that bad. But when one is expecting a delicious flatbread with puffy, bready crust, thin-crust pizza is not even close to being in the same ballpark.

Would I have even gotten to try this strange, cracker-like pie if I did not usually order my lunch from the Italian Kitchen? Likely, no. But I did, and I am grateful for that. I think that it is important for there to be a good variety of foods on campus for students to choose from. Villanova has never had outside vendors serving food through the dining halls until this year. While there are some people who do not have much of a problem with this, like myself, I also value the greater choice and standardization that outside food vendors bring to campus. Food Truck Fridays are beloved by the Villanova community, not only because of the fun and social aspects, but also because of the novelty of new foods to try.

It is important to make sure the beloved on-campus foods stick around for people like me though. While it is very nice to have a food shop pop-up, I would select a flatbread over a thin-crust pizza 100 times out of 100. It is amazing to introduce new foods to campus, but they should not come at the expense of foods that already exist.