Perhaps the only thing Duke students like more than food is complaining about food.
For the moment, however, it seems these complaints have been silenced by efforts from Duke Dining Services and ARAMARK, Corp. to improve campus dining—especially on East Campus.
In past years, ARAMARK—the company that owns The Great Hall and The Marketplace—has come under fire for inconsistent service and limited selection. The company hopes to live down its past reputation this year, however, by offering students a wide array of food and a better dining atmosphere.
“I’m pretty pleased with what I’m seeing right now,” said Jim Wulforst, director of dining services. “This has to be a breakout year for ARAMARK—especially with first year students... My primary concern is that they’re able to sustain it.”
The Great Hall now offers Nature’s Express and Jump Asian Cuisine every day, which serves organic and Chinese food respectfully.
In addition, visiting vendors such as The Q Shack and Sitar India Palace are also available and have become a staple in the diets of many students.
The most noticeable changes have taken place on East Campus. While standing in line, freshmen can now watch the day’s news scroll across a new plasma flat-screen television. Once they swipe their cards, freshmen enter a more vibrantly colored cafeteria where they can pick up homemade bread and stir fry or make their own burrito, among other things.
The efforts seem to be paying off, Wulforst said.
In its first week of operation, The Marketplace averaged over 1,400 dinners a night, East Campus Food Service Director Chris Thompson said.
As part of its desire to attract late-night eaters, The Marketplace now offers pizza and calzones, among other things, between the hours of 8 p.m. and 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday nights.
Nearby Trinity Café, which is now open until 1 a.m. weekday nights, serves 400 to 500 students every day.
Thompson believes that recent success can be attributed as much to student-employee interaction as to good food and a pleasant dining experience.
“A lot of our employees already know students by name,” Thompson said. “It makes employees feel good when they interact with students.” Thompson believes that such relationships are essential to ARAMARK’s vision for the upcoming year.
Freshman Elinor Hurt appreciates the friendly environment fostered by “the omelet guy in the morning.” Junior Sasha Rourk often opts to dine at The Marketplace weeknights. Others, like freshman Lesya Melnyk spoke to the surprising cleanliness of The Marketplace.
“I look at first year students as shareholders in a company known as Dining Services,” Wulforst said. Upperclassmen will be more likely to support dining at Duke if they have a positive first-year dining experience, he said.
And freshmen like Lane Towery seem to be enjoying their meal options so far. “I’ve been completely satisfied,” he said. “I heard all these horror stories coming in, but I’ve had no complaints.”
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