Duke turns LoYo away from campus

Duke loses to Stanford 14-44. Photos by Dan Scheirer and James Lee/The Chronicle
Duke loses to Stanford 14-44. Photos by Dan Scheirer and James Lee/The Chronicle

Lines stretching across the quad, full of students who see Local Yogurt as a respite from the library, have become a common sight at Duke.

Now, those students will find themselves in the Bryan Center when frozen yogurt cravings strike.

Every year the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee recommends food trucks to come to campus, and this year LoYo did not make the cut, said Rick Johnson, assistant vice president for housing and dining. New venue Red Mango, opening Monday in the Bryan Center, is intended to fill the void.

But students aren't the only ones with a stake in the matter—LoYo will feel the cut too.

"I would understand it if we weren’t a popular truck, but it seemed like we were doing great,” LoYo co-founder and owner Leah Bergman said.

LoYo typically came to campus five times a week, and the truck made between $500 and $800 each night, Bergman said. Between 17 and 18 percent of that revenue went directly back to Duke.

The summer announcement came as a surprise to Bergman, she said, adding that LoYo was not given an explanation for the change.

“It was definitely not my decision,” she said. “We love our Duke students.”

Sophomore Annalise Johnson said she used to buy LoYo whenever the truck came to East Campus, and she will miss it this year.

"It was such an integral part of my freshman year," she said. "It was a nice treat after a long, hard day."

Rick Johnson noted that DUSDAC takes applications from different food trucks each Spring before recommending a line-up to be implemented in the Fall. 

“[DUSDAC's] thinking was that Red Mango would cover the yogurt and smoothie need on campus and that students would need more ‘meal’ focused trucks to make up for the closing of West Union,” Johnson wrote in an email Aug. 19.

The seven trucks approved for this year are Baguettaboutit, Captain Ponchos, Chirba Chirba Dumpling, Fosters on the Fly, Gussy’s, Humble Pig and Parlez-Vous Crepes—all of which provide meals rather than snack food.

“Now that we have Red Mango, [the LoYo truck is] kind of superfluous,” said sophomore Ashley Wong.

Bergman noted that LoYo—which has brick-and-mortar locations in Elon and Greenville, as well as two in Durham—would still be available to bring a truck to campus for catering opportunities hosted by individual organizations, as well as for events such as LDOC.

LoYo remains open to returning to campus if Duke will permit it, Bergman said.

“I’m really distraught,” she said. “I’d love to be back.”

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