If the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association gets its way, students may soon have more options for food on points and eventually be able to use their DukeCards at local shops and restaurants.
Two weeks ago the association sent a letter to President Richard Brodhead with a request to lower the initial set-up and commission fees for the Merchants on Points program in order to promote more small business participation.
The MOP system allows students to have food delivered from restaurants in the local area using their meal plan food points.
John Schelp, president of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association, contended that the current program favors larger businesses, such as chain restaurants that are better able to absorb the costs of the program. He said that if Duke was willing to lower the fees, more small local businesses would be able to participate in the program.
"It would be great for students, and it would be great for the community near campus," Schelp said.
The Regulator Bookshop co-owner Tom Campbell explained the difficulties the fees create.
"It's $3,000 to start and then there are commission fees that can go up to 18 percent," Campbell said. "We have to offer a lot of discounts, so the fees would take half our profit."
The Old West Durham Neighborhood Association also raised concerns about the students' inability to use points off campus. In the MOP system, students can only pay for purchases with points if they are delivered on campus.
"We get asked fairly frequently if we take FLEX," Campbell said.
Director of Dining Services Jim Wulforst explained that meal plan points are non-taxable and thus can only be used on campus.
He added that Kemel Dawkins, vice president for campus services, is currently in talks with lawyers about the issue.
Some vendors already on the points system, however, disagreed with the association's claims. Dan Mall, Jimmy John's operating partner and area manager, said the MOP fees actually make it harder for chain vendors to participate because chain restaurants have franchise fees to pay as well.
"You can't just lower the fee and have everyone be happy," Mall said.
He added that the quality of service and ability to handle customer volume must be taken into consideration.
Wulforst agreed that quality is important in the success of the system. "If a vendor provides good food at a good price, they will get the student business," he said. "I'm all for an open market."
There are currently more than 15 restaurants participating in the MOP system. It has recently been expanded through Gourmet Dining and Bakery, LLC-a student-founded delivery company that added Pop's Trattoria, The Original Q-Shack, Dale's Indian Cuisine, Mad Hatters Cafe and Bake Shop and Papa John's Pizza to the system.
Overall, Schelp is optimistic about the constructive response from Duke.
"The initial news from Duke is good," Schelp said.
He spoke to Executive Vice President Tallman Trask about the issue and was told that the association would receive Duke's answer to their concerns in a month.
The interaction could represent a larger trend of cooperation between the Duke and Durham communities. "I don't think this conversation would have happened two years ago," Schelp said.
He attributed the improvement to the influence of Brodhead and Provost Peter Lange and called Brodhead "a breath of fresh air" in his interactions with the Duke administration.
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