Sushi Love is the new frontrunner to become the latest vendor added to the Merchants-on-Points program.
At the Monday meeting of the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee, representatives from Sushi Love and Campus Enterprises discussed the logistics of including the restaurant in MOP. Following the departure of Pizza Mia from the program, DUSDAC began looking for another restaurant to fill its place. Co-chair Brian Taylor said the committee has already considered other options such as Chubby’s Tacos and Heavenly Buffaloes.
“Our frontrunner right now is Sushi Love along with Campus Enterprises,” Taylor, a junior, said. “We’re looking to see if students will like it, if they can order it and if it already fills a need or duplicates an option already available on Merchants-on-Points.”
According to online research conducted by sophomores Colin Power and Kevin Hatch, directors of restaurants for Campus Enterprises, students revealed a high interest for sushi delivery on food points, as well as a preference for Sushi Love over other sushi restaurants like Mount Fuji and Vine Sushi.
Campus Enterprises, which currently manages deliveries for Hungry Leaf, Food Factory and TGI Friday’s, will be providing the delivery service exclusively online via Radoozle. Power said that online ordering will make the process much more streamlined than the delivery service that Sushi Love implemented several years ago.
“If we have [students] calling the front desk, it’s really inefficient and wastes time because the orders are placed at the front desk, prices are calculated and then the handwritten order is given to the chefs in the kitchen,” Power said. “Radoozle helps calculate pricing and shows chefs all the orders, which reduces wait time.”
Sushi Love Owner Janejira Thongphai said Duke students frequently ask if Sushi Love delivers or accepts food points. Thongphai said if included on MOP, their delivery service could serve many different students with a variety of foods that include stir fry, vegetarian rolls and cooked sushi.
“We’ve been in business since 2009, and 60 to 70 percent of our customers are Duke students,” Thongphai said. “I think it’s a great opportunity to provide for [them].”
DUSDAC members raised several concerns over the addition of Sushi Love, one of which included the delivery wait times and hours for the restaurant.
Hatch said students would receive notification from Campus Enterprises if the orders are backed up for a night, and that delivery times would usually take less than 40 minutes. He added that Campus Enterprises would be able to hire more drivers based on volume of orders during hours of operation, which are currently slated from 5 to 10 p.m. on business days.
“The highest volume of orders is often after class,” Hatch said. “We considered lunchtime delivery for the future, but we decided the optimal way to start is with these hours.”
Other concerns included the high pricing versus quality of sushi, perishability of sushi for delivery, staffing at the restaurant and the required use of Radoozle.
Hatch said prices will remain within range of restaurant prices, although buy-one-get-one-free options for sushi rolls would not be available through delivery orders. Moreover, Hatch noted that the owners will advertise the exclusivity of online ordering for delivery on their menus, flyers and social media to ensure that students do not call in by mistake.
Thongphai added that they will be able to keep their hot and cold rolls fresh in the appropriate containers for delivery and hire appropriate numbers of chefs to make sure the orders are filled quickly.
“We’re going to manage and make sure we have enough staff to make food right on time,” Thongphai said.
Taylor said the committee would vote later over email as to whether or not they would recommend Sushi Love as an addition to the program.
Student Health Dietitian Clinician Toni Ann Apadula announced that Vegetarian Awareness month will be held in October, with hummus-tasting and vegan awareness being sponsored by Dining and Student Health in coming months. Apadula said that pamphlets for healthy dining options available on campus will be circulated in the coming weeks.
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