A new name has entered the discussions over who will replace ARAMARK Corp. as the University's main food provider.
Bon Appétit Management Company-a California-based conglomerate that runs dining at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a host of other colleges-is one of the favorites to land the contract, sources close to the negotiations confirmed Sunday.
A decision is fast-approaching after the Vendor Review Committee gave its recommendations last week, said Jim Wulforst, director of dining services.
The committee was composed of faculty, administrators, undergraduates and graduate students, Wulforst said. He declined further comment.
Committee member Andrew Wallace, co-chair of the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee, said he recommended the contract be split between East and West Campuses.
Wallace, a senior, proposed that Bon Appétit be awarded West, while Meriwether-Godsey Inc.-a small Virginia-based firm-run East's dining experience.
"There are clear choices of who would be better and who would be worse for each of the two main locations," Wallace said, referring to the Marketplace on East and the Great Hall on West.
He added that although each committee member made his own recommendation, they were not all equally qualified to do so. Some of them were in positions entirely unrelated to dining, although they may still have a stake in the outcome, he said.
"There was some disagreement by some people who weren't necessarily informed-who don't understand the food industry and how the economics of it work," Wallace explained.
Still, he said he was most disappointed by a lack of student representation, with only four undergraduates and one graduate student serving on the committee.
"You've got to ask yourself-who eats the food?" he said. "We're the main customer."
Another committee member, outgoing Duke Student Government President Jesse Longoria, a senior, said he was "hesitant to comment on any specifics" but noted that he had a definite favorite.
"I was looking more for the demonstration of flexibility instead of hard and fast 'this is how we do it at other places,'" Longoria said, referring to the various companies' proposals.
Officials at Bon Appétit are excited at the prospect of managing Duke dining, said Maisie Ganzler, the company's director of communications and strategic communications.
She said that if Bon Appétit is selected, "students should see changes right away," citing Santa Clara University as an example of what can happen when Bon Appétit takes over for ARAMARK.
"We blew the doors off of that place in terms of customer count," she recalled. "It was a kind of a good problem to have."
Bon Appétit has a decentralized decision-making office and a real executive chef on every campus, Ganzler explained. She added the company makes an effort to buy as many ingredients as possible from within a 150-mile radius of campus.
But the decision of who will receive the contract has not yet been finalized, said Kemel Dawkins, Duke's vice president for campus services.
Top administrators-including Executive Vice President Tallman Trask and Provost Peter Lange-have yet to give their counsel.
"We will meet this week and hopefully make a selection," Dawkins said.
He downplayed the imminence of other proposed changes to the dining model, in particular the potential changes to the freshman meal plan.
Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, told The Chronicle in April about the possibility of dedicating particular nights at off-campus restaurants for residents of specific freshman dormitories to use their dining plan.
"Our goal will be to have [the provider] in place immediately," Dawkins said. "More dramatic changes will take place over time."
Dawkins said there will not be enough time over the summer to accomplish anything substantial regarding possible structural renovations.
"There is a very narrow window," he explained. "The options are limited."
No matter which vendor ends up winning the contract, the dining experience will be much improved, Dawkins said.
"Everyone is thinking about Duke dining in a very different way than ARAMARK did," he said.
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