DUSDAC considers another pizza option for campus food truck lineup

<p>DUSDAC members sampled&nbsp;Napoli Gourmet Pizza at their Monday meeting.&nbsp;</p>

DUSDAC members sampled Napoli Gourmet Pizza at their Monday meeting. 

A new pizza vendor wants to take a slice out of student dining. 

At its Monday meeting, the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee sampled offerings from Napoli Gourmet Pizza, a Carrboro-based food truck that offers Neapolitan-style pizzas. The committee discussed adding Napoli to the food truck rotation for the upcoming year. 

Napoli's pizza offerings include classic toppings such as margherita, mediterranean, bacon and garlic, as well as more unusual specials like apricot with mozzarella, salami and camembert—a type of cheese. Pizzas are cooked in a wood-fired oven in the back of the truck.

DUSDAC chair Brian Taylor, Trinity ’16, said that Napoli would have to be deemed outstanding by the committee in order to be selected as a candidate. The truck would be competing with Il Forno— another wood-fired pizza option on campus—as well as The Loop, Domino's Pizza, Enzo's and Papa John’s Pizza.

“They need to be special and unique to distinguish them,” Taylor said.

Napoli will also be one of the food trucks at DUSDAC’s annual food truck rodeo next Thursday where students can sample several options using a $10 voucher provided by Duke Dining.

Gael Chatelain, the owner of the food truck, said the average lunch from Napoli would cost around $8 to $9. He explained that the truck imports its flour and tomatoes from Naples, Italy, which contributes to the cost.

Taylor noted that some food trucks add around a dollar to their prices when they serve food on campus. Duke Dining takes a portion of their profits, so prices may be higher.

Chatelain estimated that wait times for pizza would range from five minutes to 20 minutes at the busiest times. The food truck's 11-inch pies can be purchased as half pizzas or whole pizzas.

DUSDAC members noted that food trucks parked on Swift Avenue will get much more business next year since a few hundred students will be living in the 300 Swift apartment complex.

In other business:

Aris Marton, assistant director of retail operations for Duke Dining, said Saladelia-operated campus restaurants—including the Café at West Union—will start serving unsweetened almond milk and unsweetened soy milk Tuesday due to student requests. 

She added that Au Bon Pain is testing the alternative milks at a franchise location in Boston and that Joe Van Gogh will consider using different milks based on demand, since they have to order in bulk.

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