AU Housing and Dining Programs will hold three open forums this week as part of its plan to replace two underperforming campus food vendors and expand the diversity of university dining options.
The meetings will be open to the entire AU community and will focus on the future of the Pura Vida and Chick-fil-A vendors.
Members of the dining services project team - a task force focused on monitoring and improving food options on campus - will moderate the forums, which are set to occur this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Housing and Dining will release information about the specific time and location of each forum in an upcoming newsletter.
Currently, AU's contract with Chick-fil-A is set to expire in May, and the university will likely not renew it, according to Housing and Dining Executive Director Chris Moody. Pura Vida, which serves fair-trade coffee, does not have a contract that is currently nearing deadline, but it has faced financial difficulties as well as increased competition from other campus coffee vendors, Moody said. The dining services team used information and feedback from consultants and students to determine the most important issues facing the dining program.
"We narrowed in for the purpose of the fall and this early spring on two that were pretty significant for us and that was removing Pura Vida and removing Chick-fil-A," Moody said.
The two vendors had the lowest retail sales, customer service and brand loyalty ratings on campus, he said.
"Chick-fil-A is absolutely a fading concept on our campus," Moody said.
When AU chose to bring Pura Vida to campus in April 2005, it was a relatively new and fresh concept that "felt very personal." But it is time to reexamine the dining options on campus, he said.
"People get bored really easily with the options we have," Moody said.
When the university develops new dining options, it is important to consider not only the number of places where food is available, but also the variety of cuisine that is offered, he said.
"We don't really have a Mexican concept or an Asian concept," said Student Government President Seth Cutter. Cutter, who is not on a meal plan, said he understands the frustration students feel about the campus dining options. He said he wants to be sure that new options can accommodate faculty, staff and students alike.
There are two possible routes for introducing new dining locations, Moody said. The university can either go with a known brand such as Subway or Einstein Bros. Bagels, or another Bon Appetit concept similar to the Tavern or Panini Express.
"With the branded concept, the benefit you get is the known product, and the challenge you get is the known product," he said. "You can't vary the menu, you can't vary the pricing structure, and everything has to go by their corporate guidelines. Branded comes with the benefit of known quantity, known product."
Plans are also under consideration for the empty tunnel space, which Moody said has been vacant for about three or four years. The limited size and poor ventilation system make the unit difficult to use as a food vendor space.
One option would involve filling the space with a local vendor who could prepare some food onsite, and have the rest of the cooked food delivered to campus, Cutter said.
The introduction of an a la carte option is also a possibility, according to Moody.
There are no specific plans on the table yet and all contractual and equipment issues with vendors are dealt with through university auxiliary services. Any changes that are made should be operational for the fall 2009 semester, he said.
You can reach this writer at news@theeagleonline.com.
UPDATE on 2/9/2009 at 3:11 p.m.:
Housing and Dining announced the meeting times and locations for the three forums in an e-mailed newsletter this afternoon.
The meeting times are * Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. - MGC 245 * Thursday at 1 p.m. - Anderson Conference Room * Friday at 2:30 p.m. - MGC 203/205
