A new tenant is taking over The Tower—24 hours a day.
The upscale eatery Pitchfork Provisions opened Wednesday in the basement space of McClendon Tower and joins McDonald’s as the only two dining options open 24-hours. The restaurant will cater to all students but provides an especially convenient option for residents of Edens and Keohane Quadrangles and the new residence hall, Keohane Quadrangle 4E, which will open Spring 2012.
Pitchfork Provisions is operated by current business partners Sam Clowney and Chris Holloway. Clowney also operates Bella Union in McClendon Tower and La Dolce Vita in the French Family Science Center. Holloway is the executive chef of Plate and Pitchfork—as well as its co-owner/operator along with Clowney.
Rick Johnson, assistant vice president for housing and dining, said administrators went with Pitchfork Provisions because they were impressed by the business partners’ previous success at Duke.
“Chris and Sam are already a proven entity to us—they’ve got good chemistry and good customer service,” Johnson said. “We also saw an initial menu, and it was pretty upscale and aggressive—so that was a bonus.”
The venue will utilize an upscale, short-order format with a buzzer system for ordering. The menu includes options such as hamburgers, steak frites, sauteed bok choy, salads and andouille dogs.
“We’ll have dishes just like a restaurant,” Holloway said. “But we’ll have them done in eight minutes.”
The new eatery was preceded by The Tower, a grill-based eatery featuring menu with fresh and local meats and produce. The Tower was owned and operated by Tom Meyer, Trinity ’91, who had revamped his original dining concept of Tommy’s Rubs and Grubs, which opened in 2006, into The Tower last Fall.
Johnson said The Tower did not meet Duke Dining’s expectations for profits last year.
The opening of Pitchfork Provisions ushers in a series of changes on West Campus, including the opening of K4 and the transition to the house model in Fall 2012. With the renovations of the West Union building beginning next year, McClendon Tower is situated to become the hub of student activity, Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said.
“What happens in McClendon is going to be critical as a supplemental space,” he said. “We’re trying to think of... [McClendon Tower] as kind of a satellite student center.”
Providing a second 24-hour eatery had long been a goal of the administration, particularly those in charge of student life.
Indeed, students praised the venue’s central location and diverse menu options.
“The variety here is very different than at a lot of other places on campus,” said Shane Hunt, a senior, who joined the hordes of students at the restaurant on opening night.
And as one of the two on-campus venues providing late-night options, Pitchfork Provisions will continue to draw customers well into the academic year, Holloway said.
“I was young once and sure ate my fair share of pancakes at 3 o’clock in the morning,” he said. “Friday nights should get pretty interesting around here.”
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