Thursday, September 6, 2001

Dining services considering fast food alternatives
By Aaron Chimbel
Staff Reporter

Chick-fil-A and Subway are the most likely fast food restaurants to be added to campus, said Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Don Mills. He said offering more variety in dining choices is being considered, but no new facilities will be added this semester.

Mills said a dining services report compiled by the Ricca Planning Studio, Inc., which was based on surveys completed by 742 students and 150 faculty and staff, recommends the university add brand name restaurants.

Chick-fil-A and Subway were named in the report as student favorites, he said.

Rick Flores, general manager of Sodexho, said a deal was attempted with Chili’s restaurant, but Chili’s declined because they did not think there would be enough business on-campus.

Alex Johnson, a sophomore history major, said students need more options to enjoy eating on campus. He said it is difficult to go off-campus to get fast food.

“I think the quality of our food at TCU is poor, and I’d like to see a change,” Johnson said.

Stephanie Hockridge, a freshman pre-major, said more low-fat and diet foods are needed, instead of fast food.

“The last thing I want is more fast food,” Hockridge said.

Dining Services has an incentive to meet the needs of students because the contract between TCU and Sodexho can be terminated with 60 days notice at any time, Flores said.

“We are only as good as our last meal,” he said.

Mills said that any new facilities would likely have limited menus like the current franchises on campus.

Pizza Hut has been on-campus since 1993, Starbucks since 1996 and Freshëns since 1999. Taco Bell was located in Worth Hills from 1993 to 1995, but Flores said it failed because of a lack of business. He said it is important to find the right brand to fit the right area and a location on the first floor of the student center would be preferred.

Flores said the relationship between an outside restaurant and Sodexho would be like that of any other franchise. He said to operate a franchise a restaurant’s specifications must be met to ensure quality from the TCU location to other locations.

“It is great to have (fast food franchises), but it can only work off of a student base,” he said.

He said that if enough students do not use the restaurant then it can not afford to stay in business.

Mills said that TCU has a contract with Sodexho in which they provide meals on campus and TCU pays them. He said their pay is based on sales and that TCU owns all of the equipment. Sodexho provides the labor, menus and food, Mills said.

Any new restaurant would be part of a three-way relationship between TCU, Sodexho and the restaurant, he said. Mills said there will always be one or two places on campus that can provide a variety of food and meals and any brand name restaurants would be an addition to traditional food services.

Flores said people can get tired of eating the same thing everyday. The choices offered in traditional dining halls can be adapted to the desires of students, but brand name locations must serve the same foods each day, he said.

Aaron Chimbel
a.a.chimbel@student.tcu.edu