Next time you have a lunchtime craving for Jimmy John’s, think again—Merchants on Points can now only be used at night.
The Merchants on Points program recently limited the hours when students can use food points for delivery. Students can now order from select off-campus restaurants no earlier than 7 p.m. on weekdays, said Rick Johnson, assistant vice president for housing and dining. Some eateries that cannot meet the new dining expectations may be cut from the program, though at least one eatery will be added to MOP. The newest off-campus vendor to join—Dunkin’ Donuts—should be available for students to order from within the next couple of weeks, Johnson said.
For the past three years, Duke has allowed restaurants to set their own hours during weekdays for students to order and use food points, Johnson said. The change in hours officially began Monday, Aug. 29, though vendors may still set their hours for MOP deliveries on weekends.
“Last year the decision was made to bring [MOP] back to its original intent—late-night dining,” Johnson said. “We didn’t get the message out to vendors.... The vendors were not ready. This year we’re implementing the changes.”
Johnson said MOP brought in about $3 million in revenue last year—roughly 10 percent of the $30 million total raised by dining. Duke Dining now requires participating MOP vendors to deliver food between 7 p.m. and midnight during weekdays, though eateries may continue delivering later than midnight, Johnson said. He acknowledged that requiring some vendors to be open during that time window may be difficult, given that many restaurants close before midnight.
There are currently 19 MOP eateries listed on Duke Dining’s website. Eleven eateries do not currently offer delivery from 7 p.m. to at least midnight and thus do not yet meet the criteria established by Duke Dining. The only eateries that currently include the required hours are Domino’s Pizza, Enzo’s Pizza Co., Jimmy John’s, Junior’s Grille, Papa John’s Pizza, Randy’s Pizza, Spartacus Restaurant and T.G.I. Friday’s.
Nosh, a popular eatery in Erwin Terrace, is one such eatery that may be eliminated from MOP. Previously, Nosh offered students the opportunity to order food using points from 3 to 9 p.m., when the restaurant closes. Although Johnson said Nosh was among the three top-selling vendors for the first day of the revised MOP program, it closes before midnight and thus does not meet Duke Dining’s criteria to stay in the program.
Carol Reardon, manager of Nosh, said she is strongly opposed to the new time window changes, adding that Nosh would most likely not stay open until midnight just to stay in the program. She noted that Duke Dining also required off-campus eateries to purchase phones for a new system to allow students to enter their DukeCard numbers, PIN codes and a tip, in order to participate in MOP. Furthermore, she said Duke Dining does not allow vendors to accept DukeCard payments at the restaurant itself.
“It’s not fair to local businesses because we depend on Duke customers for our business,” Reardon said. “We depend on people with buying power and students have buying power. [Duke] already won’t let [students] come here with food points so we have to deliver. We would be losing a huge cross-section of customers.”
Johnson said the change in the time window will allow on-campus vendors to attract more lunchtime business without competition from MOP vendors. On-campus vendors are required to be open during certain hours during the day, and if their sales decline, their businesses may lose their viability, Johnson added.
Another concern, Johnson said, is that students may miss out on the opportunity to dine communally and have discussions with other students if they have food delivered.
“Given that there is take-out, which does not facilitate interaction, it still seemed that returning MOP to its original intent was the right thing to do,” Johnson said.
Based on her experience taking MOP orders for Duke students at Nosh, Reardon said she disagrees with the general premise that students miss out on eating as a group if they order from off-campus eateries.
“I’m not sure what the deal is,” Reardon said. “[Duke Dining] said students need to communally dine, but that’s how you all order.... You all are already communally dining.”
Students were consulted about the change last year and they expressed a desire for late-night eating options, Johnson said. Duke Dining will continue to consult with the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee to gauge which off-campus eateries are most popular with students.
Several students expressed strong discontentment with the idea that some MOP vendors may no longer be offered.
Sophomore Forrest Etter said he usually uses MOP to order lunch, and is upset that he will no longer have the option to order using his food points during that time.
“I’ve generally been dissatisfied with dining here,” Etter said. “Duke [on-campus dining] is such a rip-off, and having MOP as an alternative makes it seem more justifiable.”
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