Despite a petition with more than 350 signatures calling for the addition of Happy + Hale to the Merchants on Points program, a couple of logistical challenges stand in the way.
Members of the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee discussed the petition, in addition to a shortage of forks at West Union at their Monday night meeting.
In order for Happy + Hale—a juice and salad bar on Ninth Street—to join the MOPs program, it would need an exception to the rule that prohibits deliveries before 8 p.m., since that is when the restaurant closes.
“Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m guessing there’s no way that’s happening,” said Brian Taylor, Trinity ’16 and chair of DUSDAC, on the possibility of such an exception.
Due to contractual agreements with vendors at West Union, there are limits on the times that MOPs can operate in order to not cut into the vendors’ profits. There are currently 14 businesses involved in the MOP program, and Taylor said that they are not in a rush to fill the one final spot that is open because there is not a pressing need for it.
In response to a question about making adjustments to the delivery hours for students living on East Campus and Central Campus, Taylor responded that it would be difficult to limit vendors to just the two campuses.
“You have to be very conscious of the Duke market—it’s only so large,” he said. “West Union has introduced a lot of new vendors. The bigger it gets, the less each individual vendor gets. If a vendor doesn’t get sales, they can’t support their business. So we have to make sure the brick-and-mortar stores do well enough to stay in business—otherwise, we have a failing system.”
Taylor also said that he thinks one of the long-term goals is to have some West Union vendors deliver, noting that a couple of vendors had already expressed interest.
One issue regarding West Union that has gained traction on the Fix My Campus Facebook page is a shortage of forks, explained junior Quinn Steven, a liaison to Duke Dining from Fix My Campus.
“We’ve had two fork posts that are begging for either more forks to be added to West Union or for there to somehow be more forks available,” she said.
Steven said that while eating at West Union the day before with a friend, she noticed a disparity in the amount of forks being used depending on the type of food available at each vendor. She suggested a reallocation of the available forks to address the problem, but a representative of Duke Dining noted that additional fork supplies were already in the works.
“We had over a thousand forks arrive today,” said Aris Marton, assistant director of retail operations for Duke Dining Services.
Marton noted that a large number of the forks probably end up in “bags, or dorm rooms or offices,” and that if people have the forks, they should just return them.
“If you hear of anyone who has a surplus of forks in their possession, we won’t hold it against [them],” she said. “Please bring it back.”
In other business:
DUSDAC voted down Oak City Fish and Chips, the food truck that they sampled last week. Although the group agreed that food trucks needed to fill particular niches, members said that current restaurants such as Devil’s Krafthouse and Pitchforks provide a similar style of late-night grub.
The group also discussed a potential food truck rodeo.
Members agreed that they wanted to hold the rodeo again this year and considered a variety of possible locations for it, including Blue Zone and Card lots. Taylor said that the rodeo will be held the same day as Old Duke and that the seven trucks currently in the rotation will be invited, along with four to five others. Duke Student Government typically sponsors the event, Taylor noted.
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Bre is a senior political science major from South Carolina, and she is the current video editor, special projects editor and recruitment chair for The Chronicle. She is also an associate photography editor and an investigations editor. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief and local and national news department head.
Twitter: @brebradham
Email: breanna.bradham@duke.edu