Alpine Atrium and Alpine Bagel may share the same name, but Atrium Manager Joey Landry does not want to be just “another bagel shop.”
Landry brainstormed ways to improve the eatery with the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee at its meeting Monday night.
The Atrium features prepackaged food prepared six times per week in the kitchens below Alpine Bagels in the West Union Building. The small space limits creativity and expansion in its menu, such as adding hot selections, Landry said.
“We are a really simple operation, and I’m proud of that,” he added. “What you see at The Atrium is pretty much all it is.”
The Atrium serves more than 400 customers per day, with the smoked turkey sandwich and the Thai chicken wrap as the most popular items. Thirty-five percent of sales come from the smoothie bar, which offers a wide range of customizable options, Landry said.
DUSDAC committee members suggested updating the display area to generate more foot traffic and including whole wheat bread for sandwiches. Landry said adding the option would require a fee to cover packaging costs.
“I don’t like nickel-and-diming students, but we would have to discard the white bread and add in the wheat,” Landry said. “It’s an unfortunate consequence.”
DUSDAC evaluates two to three campus eateries per semester, offering feedback from diverse student perspectives, said co-Chair Jason Taylor, a senior.
“We want to show that Alpine is different,” he said. “The product they sell is great. We just want to make the packaging a little better.”
In other business:
The first DUSDAC-sponsored Diversity Dinner will take place March 2 and will be catered by The Refectory, DUSDAC chairs announced. The event will allow eight students to discuss controversial topics over dinner at the Law School.
In the next few weeks, DUSDAC will also elect two new co-chairs and recruit four new members for the 2010-2011 school year.
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