When Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. N.C.

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1 Branding UNC Charlotte Students Enjoy Wendy s As profiled in the August 2009 issue of On-Campus Hospitality, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte s new Student Union features a number of new choices for the students. One of those new options is the first Wendy s on campus. I think it has been a tremendous success, said Stanley Wells, unit director on campus with Chartwells, the campus foodservice provider. The students really love it. We just got our student surveys back and they were really good. They were happy with the service, the speed of service, the product. It has been a great experience so far. When dining options were first being considered for the Student Union, Wendy s was the brand the students wanted. When we did the brand preference survey many years ago on this campus, the real big thing that came up was that students wanted Wendy s, said Andrew C. Lipson, resident district manager. It was one of the No. 1 brands the students wanted at that time. That was the big driving factor obviously, in that that was what students were looking for. After opening, the students did have one complaint it closed too early in the evening. We changed our hours to 10 p.m. because we met with student government and talked to them, he said. We had been open for a few months and asked them What do you want to see different? That was one of the things that they were interested in. They were really excited that not only did we open it, but we also listened to what they had to say and reacted because of it. It was a win for all three. Coffeehouse Brews at UC Riverside The University of California Riverside (UC Riverside) had a pent-up need for a coffeehouse on campus, according to Cheryl Garner, executive director of dining and conference services. We apparently had one a number of years ago, but we closed up when we remodeled our HUB (campus dining center), she said. We needed to add one again. We really were looking for a location that would be our anchor for late nights and weekends. It made a lot of sense that coffee was the product that was most suited for those hours that would provide us a great deal of flexibility in terms of demand. After researching a number of options, the school ultimately chose Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. We actually picked Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf because, if you look at our demographics, it really mirrors the demographic you would find at a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, said Garner. In addition to carrying the regular line of coffee, teas and blended drinks, the standalone location carries a number of the brand s test products. One of the things we opted to put into our facility was the concept they call Stir, said Garner. Stir is a food program that they have in which they do made-to-order oatmeal and parfaits. We are currently the highest-volume parfait unit that they have. We do about 240 a day; we do about 50 oatmeals a day. Customers are able to customize their own oatmeal or parfait, but can also choose from a set menu with selections such as strawberries and white chocolate, apple pie and banana peanut butter chip. We really liked the idea of having a breakfast option especially on a weekend when it may be the only place that s open, she said. They eat them all day long. We really don t find especially with the parfaits that they are simply a breakfast item. They are ordered all throughout the day. I also see a lot of students eating oatmeal at lunch. It is a healthy portion and a really good value. The venue also serves a full line of pastries and kosher-style sandwiches. They are meatless, said Garner. Our culinary team enjoyed doing that. This gave us an opportunity to create some unique products that are vegetarian. We created the line of sandwiches and approved it through Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. They have a pretty rigorous criteria you have to meet. They brought out their concept culinary development person, they looked at all of the products and they loved them. 38 MAY 2010 ON-CAMPUS HOSPITALITY

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3 McAlister s Brings Western Feel When Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. N.C. opened the new Courtyard Dining Hall, the school decided that McAlister s Deli would be a good anchor location for the retail-based lower level. We did some research at other peer institutions and so forth and it was driven by the university on their end, said Matt Lugo, marketing manager with Aramark, the campus foodservice provider. They wanted McAlister s. In our area, there are not many casual dining choices, so it was something to keep students on campus and appeal to faculty and staff and enhance that western community. This McAlister s is like any other throughout the country. We offer their complete menu from their signature deli sandwiches to their popular spuds, he said. We have their famous sweet tea. That is extremely popular on campus. What makes this McAlister s different is that it has a Western Carolina feel. McAlister s customized the look, said Lugo. They took some pictures of the surrounding area of the university and made some large wall murals to go on some of the walls. They did a very good job of making you feel like a part of Western, not just a McAlister s on Western s campus. The deli has been very popular. It has been a big hit, he said. Not only from students, but also from faculty and staff. You can go in there at mid-afternoon and see faculty and staff holding meetings over soup and salad. We use it too as an opportunity if we have clients that we are going to be meeting with to take them out for lunch and sit down and have a face-to-face meeting. It seats about folks. It gives us an opportunity to find a quiet corner to sit down and have a nice meal. National brands are important on campus, according to Lugo. Our customer base is very national-brand loyal. They enjoy the national brands. In this area, there are very few national brands. When we are able to bring a national brand, it sells itself and it is a huge customer draw. ON-CAMPUS HOSPITALITY MAY

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5 Branding Cal State San Bernardino Opens First Denny s Fresh Express The first Denny s Fresh Express recently opened on the campus of Cal State San Bernardino. For Diane Keate, district manager with Sodexo, the campus foodservice provider, Denny s Fresh Express was exactly what they were looking for for a venue that had not yet found the right niche. We have new formats everywhere, but we have one location where all we had was a steam table. We tried a couple of different things, but nothing went. We didn t put any brands in there, but we were trying some different food options. Of all the things that we had tried there, we knew that the all-day breakfast was the most popular. Another reason Keate thought it would be a good fit was based on the results of a food preference survey. On there for most popular casual restaurant was Denny s, said Keate. We knew right then that Denny s was a name that they recognized and a place where many of them ate. The furthest Denny s away from us is about five miles, so it wasn t like there was a Denny s right off campus that we were going to compete with. She first heard of the new concept at a regional meeting of Sodexo s district managers. When I saw the Denny s, I thought, Wow, this would really be nice. It would fit perfectly. It would be something that people would go to see the Denny s, and if they didn t want Denny s, they would maybe purchase something at one of the other brands, but they would certainly go there because the Denny s is there. The best part was that it made sense economically. The look of it was very good, said Keate. I started asking for numbers and it fit into our budget. They came out and said that we could use a lot of the same equipment. That is always a good thing. It started with, Okay, we have this empty space and this was something brand new. We thought this would be great. The Denny s Fresh Express opened in January It serves breakfast all day, and student favorites include the famous Grand Slam breakfasts, the Grand Slamwich and the Chipotle Prime Rib Breakfast Burrito. Midday options consist of burgers cooked to order and hot panini sandwiches. The unit also features Denny s Better For You meal choices. One of the things that we didn t want is it to be just high-fat food, Keate said. We requested that they have salads. Another thing that they put in because we didn t want just the high-fat, high-carb food, is smoothies. Those took off really well. Another addition is grab n go items, including freshly prepared salads and fruit cups; quick dessert options include muffins, cookies, brownies and Pancake Puppies. One reason why Keate thinks that their own concepts did not work in the same space was because they were not recognized brands. Brand recognition is really important to the students. They like it much more than maybe some other colleges. We have a Taco Bell, we have a Pizza Hut, we have a Starbucks. We also have an in-house brand called Subversions, which is like Subway. We are constantly hearing from students, Why can t we have Subway? This is almost exactly like it fresh breads, you make your own sandwiches. But having a brand has made a tremendous difference. I would say it is doing 400 percent more than we were doing before. It wasn t like we pulled out one brand and then put in another brand. It has increased sales in the food court as a whole and we are assuming that it is because of Denny s because that was the thought they would come for Denny s and maybe buy it at Taco Bell, but they would come in to Denny s and see what it was. OCH 40 MAY 2010 ON-CAMPUS HOSPITALITY