Satisfaction vies for last Merchants-on-Points spot

DUSDAC met Monday with representatives of local sports var Satisfaction, which is a new contender to deliver as a Merchants-on-Points vendor.
DUSDAC met Monday with representatives of local sports var Satisfaction, which is a new contender to deliver as a Merchants-on-Points vendor.

On the same night that Sushi Love debuted its campus delivery service, local sports bar Satisfaction was introduced as another candidate for Merchants-on-Points delivery.

Two spots have been open in the Merchants-on-Points food delivery program since September, and the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee has spent the past several weeks vetting potential vendors. Sushi Love was chosen last week to fill the first vacancy and kicked off its delivery system Monday evening—proving so popular that it stopped taking orders after the first two hours in order to catch up on the workload. Meanwhile, DUSDAC considered using Satisfaction to fill the second open MOP space, meeting with the restaurant's manager and sampling the menu at a Monday night meeting.

Satisfaction was one of the first restaurants in Durham to participate in the MOP program at Duke in the late 1990s, and it was a part of the program until 2007. Thurston Lee, kitchen manager at Satisfaction, said the restaurant’s owner loved being involved in the program previously, but he could not handle the volume of demand and had to ultimately drop the program.

“We are super, super excited about having a chance to do this again,” Lee said. “If we are selected, we will give you the best quality food.”

Satisfaction’s menu includes a variety of appetizers, sandwiches, salads and specialty pizzas, with gluten-free dough available. All of the menu items, in addition to canned sodas, would be available for delivery.

When asked about delivery logistics, Lee said the bar currently delivers through Durham Takeout, a delivery service used by local restaurants. But for MOP, Satisfaction would hire new drivers that would come directly from the restaurant, as opposed to drivers going through a central location as is currently done. The delivery time would take up to 45 minutes, but drivers would aim for a goal of 30 minutes, Lee added.

Lee said that the staff at the restaurant has not yet decided on delivery fees or added gratuities. Satisfaction currently is open until 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until midnight on Friday and Saturday and until 9 p.m. on Sunday, but Lee noted they could potentially add later hours on weekends.

“It makes me feel so good that where I’m working is loved by the Duke community,” he said.

Committee members expressed some concern about the time taken to deliver from Satisfaction, noting that ordering food in the restaurant has taken up to 45 minutes. Members also said the menu resembles the menu offered by the Food Factory, which currently delivers on campus. But other DUSDAC members noted that expanding the variety of late night food options was important, and Satisfaction could offer high quality burgers for late-night.

“Two complaints are that we don’t have real restaurants and that we don’t have late night, and that fills both holes,” said DUSDAC co-chair Gregory Lahood, a senior.

Other members discussed the food variety that Satisfaction would contribute if added to the MOP program.

“Satisfaction could fill the late-night healthy options niche, but there aren’t very many healthy options on the menu aside from salad or sandwiches,” said senior Eugenie Dubin. “But Sushi Love helps with the healthy options, and it’s nice to have secondary gluten-free options late at night.”

DUSDAC co-chair Brian Taylor, a junior, noted that the committee will vote at a later date on adding Satisfaction to the program—adding that options that have been looked at in the past, including wing restaurant Heavenly Buffaloes, are still under consideration.

Taylor also discussed Sushi Love's first few hours delivering as part of MOP, noting that the restaurant had such a high volume of orders that they had to temporarily halt delivery to catch up. Rather than taking orders via telephone, the restaurant is using student-run website Radoozle—allowing students to select their order from a drop-down menu and place it online.

Delivery times Monday night were reported as long as two hours.

Rachel Chason contributed reporting

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