During the summer, Dining Services administrators made the decision to privatize the eateries in the Sanford Institute of Public Policy and the School of Law. In the short time these eateries have been open for business, the new delis have proven to be more of a success than their University-operated predecessors in several areas-including increased sales and enthusiastic feedback.
Jim Wulforst, director of Dining Services, said the new restaurants' sales are surpassing the delis' past trends. "Sales have increased between a range of 35 to 45 percent over recent years," he said. The improvement can be attributed to the innovative approaches of Denise Hall, the owner, manager and head chef of the new delis, Wulforst added.
With the culinary expertise she gained at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, Hall brings dynamic and homemade recipes-such as her Southwestern-style black bean wrap and Mediterranean-style roasted vegetable sandwich-to her University eateries.
Hall said she is particularly pleased with the Sanford Deli's success so far. "We've had a great response from within the building, but we've also served a number of people from the business and law schools," she said. "All the good responses make me really happy."
Wulforst said this kind of enthusiasm is exactly what the deli needed. "I always felt that the services were not maximizing on their potential," he explained. "I decided that for various reasons, it was in the best interest of the department and the customer to offer the business to an individual with a strong entrepreneurial spirit.
"[Hall] is customer-focused, customer-driven and has a great personality," Wulforst continued. "Every week she's been successfully breaking the previous week's record, not by just sales but in transactions. The feedback has been stellar."
Wulforst hopes to bring this formula for success to other campus eateries in the near future. "[Hall's] commitment to service is extraordinary," he said. "My challenge is to get that same aggressiveness to other vendors here at Duke. It's easy for vendors to be jealous of others' success when they should ask themselves, 'How can I make my service better?' If that's what it takes, I'm going to continue to do this."
Although most students have praised the new business, several have also pointed out that prices have increased from last year.
"The food is really good, but the problem is, you pay extra for chips and sides," said Trinity senior Kirby Drake.
Trinity junior Aimee Vasse, however, offered only words of encouragement.
"I think [the Sanford Deli] is really charming," she said. "There's a great selection, and there's lots of foods you wouldn't find anywhere else. It's like a touch of gourmet."
Overall, administrators said they too are very pleased with the success of the delis.
"We have an excellent chef," said Joe Pietrantoni, associate vice president for auxiliary services. "I visited the deli myself, and I was impressed by the excellent variety." He described Hall as "innovative" and said she "does a top quality job on every product."
Wulforst echoed Pietrantoni's sentiments. "I'm pleased because the customers are pleased.... My focus is to find a balance between private and non-private services... and there is a balance."
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