Lemon ricotta pancakes and egg strata may not be enough to save Saturday brunch at the Law School Refectory.
The Refectory Cafe, which operates at two locations—the School of Law and the Divinity School—describes itself as a “green cafe,” offering fresh, healthy and homemade food options to students on campus. High operating costs and low student-traffic at the Law School, however, have jeopardized the once-popular Saturday brunch.
In response to student complaints about limited weekend brunch choices, last Spring the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee and Duke Student Government asked the owner of the Refectory, Laura Hall, to open one of her locations for Saturday brunch. In the last two months of the 2010 Spring semester, Hall opened the Law School Refectory for Saturday brunch and received an overwhelming response.
This Fall, however, the brunch, which operates Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., has not been as successful.
“In the first two weeks we got 150 to 175 people,” Hall said. “When we operate on a given day, we need about 400 people to come through so we can keep a competitive price for such high-quality food.”
Of those who attend, Hall estimates that roughly 25 percent are undergraduates. She noted the wages and benefits of employees in addition to the cost of local food are the reasons Saturday brunch may close if business remains slow.
“Using local farmers means we use many suppliers, adding cost to our operation,” Hall said. “And we use more labor because we are prepping the food in our kitchens.”
DSG Executive Vice President Pete Schork, a junior who was vice president for athletics and campus services last year during the pilot of the Saturday brunch, helped publicize the change last Spring.
“There was a void in quality food offerings for Saturdays,” Schork said. “I just helped publicize it a little bit last year—helped develop the concept.”
DSG has made no such publicity efforts this year, Hall said, and she may be poised to shut down Saturday brunch within a few weeks if traffic does not pick up.
In addition to the lack of publicity this year, DUSDAC co-Chair Alex Klein, a senior and former online editor for The Chronicle, attributes the low student attendance to the distance of the Refectory from students’ dorms and weekend events like Tailgate.
“If people were more aware of what the Law School Refectory made available for purchase on Saturday mornings—from its sure-to-convert-the-New-Englanders cheese grits to its hangover-curing sweet potato fries—there is no question it would become the go-to Saturday brunch,” Klein wrote in an e-mail. Popular menu choices include Belgian waffles, baked oatmeal and deli sandwiches.
Klein added that while he personally enjoys the Refectory, it is not DUSDAC’s role to promote individual on-campus eateries.
Sophomore Mohamed Ismail, who attended brunch at the Refectory for the first time Saturday, described the walk to the Law School as well worth the distance.
“You get tired of the places on West. Here, they have a pretty good range,” he said.
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