After years of rumored changes and uncertainty, it is finally confirmed: The Food Factory is setting up shop at Duke.
Cary, N.C.-based eatery The Food Factory will move into The Devil’s Bistro on Central Campus in the Fall, bringing to fruition plans that fell through in 2009 to bring the New York-style deli to Duke, Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta confirmed.
“We hope we’ll be welcomed, and we hope that it’ll do well,” Food Factory Owner Jim Schmid said.
The Food Factory opened in Cary in 2000 and has received positive reviews—receiving accolades such as “Best Lunch Place,” “Most Creative Sandwich” and “Best Deli” from Cary Magazine and The Cary News. The Cary location’s menu features options such as a breaded eggplant and melted mozzarella sandwich on focaccia bread, chicken Caesar wraps and a variety of salads.
The new 70-item menu will be similar to that of The Devil’s Bistro, which includes pizza and burgers, and will feature some of The Food Factory’s signature deli sandwiches, Schmid said. The eatery plans on selling beer and wine.
The on-campus restaurant will be open for lunch, dinner and late night, Schmid said.
The Food Factory will be staffed by Schmid, his wife Lisa and several managers from the Cary location. Schmid said the restaurant also plans on hiring staff in Durham.
The new eatery is tentatively being referred to as The Food Factory at Devil’s Bistro, though the name could change slightly.
“We wanted students to know that it’s different people [running the eatery],” Schmid said.
The Food Factory originally proposed opening an eatery on campus to the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee and some Duke Student Government executive members in November 2008, The Chronicle reported. At the time, Duke was considering different eateries to either open in a new location on campus or to replace an already existing eatery.
“We’ve been talking with Duke for two or three years about opening a restaurant,” Schmid said. “We’ve just been waiting for the right opportunity and to be invited.”
The opening of The Food Factory was originally slated for Spring 2009 to replace an eatery either in McClendon Tower or the Bryan Center. Director of Dining Services Jim Wulforst told The Chronicle in January 2009 that major dining changes were put on hold because of a 19 percent drop in the value of Duke’s endowment since July 2008 as a result of the recession. The restaurant was then scheduled to open in Fall 2009.
The Fall opening was also put on hold because of undisclosed financial problems at Duke. Some of the potential costs that were considered in 2009 included construction and rental costs because the location where The Food Factory would have taken over had not been determined.
Rick Johnson, assistant vice president for housing and dining, wrote in an email that there will be few physical changes to the existing Devil’s Bistro as The Food Factory moves in because the Bistro is still new, having opened in April 2010.
The Food Factory had also been discussed as a possible replacement for The Tower eatery in the basement of McClendon as part of the new Keohane Quadrangle 4E. The Tower’s official replacement has not yet been announced by the University.
“We’re hoping [The Food Factory] just meets the students’ needs out there on Central,” Schmid said.
Johnson said he expects The Food Factory will establish a strong relationship with students and the Duke community.
“[The] Food Factory was very connected to the Cary community, and they have told us—and we have great confidence—that they will make those same types of connections with students,” Johnson said. “Students should look forward to great food and an owner/operator team who [is] dedicated to great service and building a community around The Devil’s Bistro.”
Wulforst declined to comment for this article.
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