Jim Wulforst, director of dining services, recently announced that-contrary to the administration's initial plan-Sbarro's will move to the University Room, and Chick-Fil-A will relocate to the Cambridge Inn.
Under the new plan, Sbarro's will share space in the U-Room with the Mandarin House Restaurant, a local Chinese eatery. Sbarro's desire to offer more than pizzas drove the decision, Wulforst said, because the new U-Room location will offer them more space in which to operate.
The change will also make the West Union renovations easier. According to the initial plan, in which Chick-Fil-A was to move into the U-Room, renovations would have required installing a ductless hood system-the ventilation method that Chick-Fil-A requires to force cooking fumes out of the building. Since the CI is already equipped with such a system, the construction is no longer required, said Richard Berlin, business manager for dining services.
The multitude of changes in food offerings are designed to encourage students to purchase the larger meal plans, Wulforst said, adding that "[students] won't be afraid to pay for the quality." According to estimates, food costs at the new restaurants should range from $5 for lunch to $7 for dinner.
The hours of operation of each restaurant will be subject to student demand and have not yet been determined, with one exception-Chick-Fil-A officials insist that all of their locations close on Sundays. "It's a very religious organization," James Zechini, manager of the Bryan Center food service operations said.
All of the new eateries will be operated by University employees, except for the Mandarin House, which will supply its own labor. Because the owners of the Chinese restaurant will provide their own staffing, Zechini predicted that they will prefer to keep their eatery open for longer hours.
The only potential downside to the new eateries is that, according to Zechini, the new restaurants may take business away from Burger King and the Rathskeller-potentially forcing them to maintain shorter hours.
Wulforst noted, however, that an expected high level of business at Chick-Fil-A and Mandarin House will balance any loss of revenue created by a decrease in business at the Bryan Center eateries. "I think the net is we're going to be even," he said. "We're just going to improve satisfaction level."
The primary agents in initiating the additions to the eatery options were students, Wulforst said. For instance, students played a key role in eatery selection, he noted, picking the Mandarin House restaurant from among 11 area Chinese restaurants. "[The changes are] driven by my customer base," he said. "I'm just a facilitator."
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