It may be several weeks before students and employees can effectively treat an on-campus Big Mac attack.
Students returning to campus this week after a summer respite faced a Bryan Center practically bereft of eating options. Construction on the McDonald's franchise has not even begun, and signs for the now-defunct All-American Grill still adorn the walls. The Armadillo Grill, the Tex-Mex eatery replacing the Rathskeller, is a mess of plywood and buzz saws.
Under the revised timetable, Armadillo Grill should be completed by Sept. 11, if not earlier, and McDonald's is now scheduled to open in mid-to-late October.
In the meantime, Dining Services officials are scrambling to make sure there are enough open eateries. Jim Wulforst, director of Dining Services, said the Great Hall will be opening Saturday, a day ahead of schedule, for both brunch and dinner. Most other eateries will expand their hours. Still, Wulforst said he is concerned about long lines during the lunch and dinner rushes.
"It'd be nice to have everything up and running when students get here," said Trinity sophomore Talya Klein, who was eating pasta salad from the Alpine Atrium.
Although McDonald's had committed to Duke, it took until the end of the month reach a mutually acceptable contract. Furthermore, the preliminary blueprints for the restaurant had to be revised with increased attention to aesthetics and efficiency, forcing McDonald's officials to abandon the Aug. 26 opening date.
Joe Pietrantoni, associate vice president for Auxiliary Services, said he is committed to McDonald's, despite the delay.
"We still want a brand-name hamburger place and the fact that we have to wait for it, we don't like that, but, we have to wait for it," he said.
The engineering plans and overall design scheme have finally been approved by all parties-the University, the McDonald's national office and the owner-operator.
"The thing we have to do now is get these drawings to a contractor so we can get rocking on this," said franchisee Ric Richards, who holds a graduate degree from Duke in nurse anesthesia. He has opened five new McDonald's restaurants in his 11 years with the mega-chain and thinks the new target date is realistic.
As a possible complication, he noted that Duke's McDonald's will feature the chain's new production system, in which all food is made to order. High demand for the new equipment could produce longer-than-expected waits, he said.
Armadillo Grill was delayed as Wulforst and the restaurant's owners created a production system to fit the Rat's space and counter arrangements while still serving students as quickly as possible.
Armadillo Grill already operates one store in Carrboro, but the owners anticipate twice as many customers at Duke.
It will open, with food, beer, wine and "fun drinks" as soon as construction is complete. Wulforst said he hopes it will be ready to open Sept. 6 or 7.
For the time being, Klein seemed relatively content. "I'm really satisfied with this pasta salad," she said. "I'll be eating that for a while."
Greg Pessin contributed to this story.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.