CCI impact on dining a mixed bag

A week before Panda Express opened its doors, a batch of colorful handmade signs lit up the West Campus Plaza in place of the restaurant's technicolor mascot.

"DukeEngage: Have we learned nothing?" "Beware, this is a trend... ACES!" "Ask Students FIRST," the signs read.

The student artists left their work unsigned, and they weren't in the spotlight for long-the signs were quickly whisked away that day to the office of Director of Dining Services Jim Wulforst, where they still hung nearly a month later.

The bitter maxims are puzzling to Wulforst, who said he has spent his career trying to satisfy students' cravings.

"I'm struggling with what it is [students] really want. I don't have a magic wand," he said. "When it feels like I've missed something, I want to resolve it."

The anonymous artists may not be the only ones on campus who wished for more from the new space. Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education Steve Nowicki noted that though he believes Panda Express has done much to liven up the Plaza, the 1,450-square-foot restaurant cannot provide the sit-down dining experiences suggested by the Campus Culture Initiative.

Sales figures posted by the restaurant in its first few weeks of operation, however, seem to tell a different story. After peddling a record-breaking 1,100 meals per day during its opening week, Wulforst said sales at Panda leveled off to about 800 meals per day, though the figures are still on par with The Loop.

Chowing down on chow mein between classes, senior Ellis Wisely said he welcomes the arrival of Panda Express on campus.

"We're always going to have a grab-and-go set of options because that's part of the modern world we live in," Nowicki said. "But we additionally want to have those venues where we can sit down, and that's something we don't have the resources to do at Duke. It is something that needs to be very squarely on our radar."

Dining Services initially hoped Panda Express's Plaza-front real estate would house a full-service, sit-down restaurant, senior Sarah Ramig, co-chair of the Duke Student Dining Advisory Committee, wrote in a letter to The Chronicle Sept. 9.

Lemon Grass-a Thai noodle bar originally selected for the space-seemed to fit the bill, but space constraints caused the San Francisco-based restaurant to withdraw from negotiations with the University over the summer. Hoping to secure a restaurant for the Fall, Wulforst said he decided Panda Express was the best option available.

Still, he was quick to add that students looking to linger over a meal on campus can take advantage of the Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club's offerings, the Nasher Museum Cafe, or even Upstairs at The Commons.

In response to the CCI, Provost Peter Lange worked to transform the Faculty Commons into an eatery that catered to the entire Duke community, but student interest in the space has been lackluster. Wulforst noted that on a recent night, Upstairs at The Commons entertained only 30 customers for dinner-traffic that does not even enable the Duke-operated restaurant to get out of the red.

Although the restaurant is not a study in sound business practices, Nowicki said it could be a valuable model for future University dining operations.

"We may need to subsidize some dining experiences and not hold them all accountable to breaking even because [we have decided] this contributes to the student experience," he said. "That's a complicated calculation, but the point of a university is not to make money off students."

The Panda Factor

Subsidized, campus culture-minded eateries may be in the University's future, but the profit-oriented national chain is currently creating quite a stir.

Floor-to-ceiling glass that once provided a window into the inner workings of student groups now acts as a display case for two pandas cuddling in a field of neon. Panda Express's fluorescent crest draws the eye of any passersby on the Plaza, and some students said they wonder what the chain restaurateurs could have done to gain such good fortune.

"Their fried rice-not terrific," sophomore James Kennedy said. "I don't know what they did to deserve this location."

With the scent of Beijing beef wafting from the Bryan Center, Wisely said Panda Express has lent the Plaza an air that is both sweet and sour.

"It feels like [Panda Express has] commercialized the Plaza," he said. "I'm happy it's here-it's certainly better than a lot of other options-but they should have to take the sign down."

Wulforst said he worked closely with the corporation to keep the eatery's brand placement subtle.

"It's a very tastefully done Panda," he said. "That is not your typical airport operation."

Although Nowicki acknowledged a fast food restaurant might not be ideal for the space, both he and Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said the Panda operation has increased student activity on the Plaza.

"Before this summer, that side of the Plaza was just basically a bunch of dead rock with the doors," Nowicki said. "I tend to sort of look at the activity of people as opposed to the specifics of the spaces that they're in. When I look at that end of the Plaza, I see it having more life-that overrides any feeling I might have about the background."

Sophomore Joe Ahdoot said Panda Express has made the Plaza more of a destination for students on campus.

"The Plaza didn't have anything before," he said. "Before it was just a passageway-now it's a hangout."

Wulforst predicted that the addition of a patio deck to Panda Express, slated for completion over Fall break, will enhance the restaurant's offerings as a social space for students.

As the University's plans for New Campus transition from sketches to stone, Wulforst said Duke Dining will have more time and resources to construct restaurants furthering the goals of the CCI, instead of quick fixes like Panda Express.

Although the first phase of construction will likely not be completed for another eight to 10 years, the renovation of the West Union building-for which a three to four-year time frame has been set-provides Dining Services with more immediate opportunities for expansion, Nowicki said.

In the meantime, Wulforst noted that the student-scrawled signs will not be up in his office for much longer-he had simply forgotten to take them down, he shrugged-but the messages still resonate with him.

"I would love the opportunity to understand the needs of those folks," he said. "The entire program that I've built in my 13 years [at Duke] was based on what students wanted."