Memorial to revamp campus dining center

By Polina Yamshchikov

Published April 17, 2007

Come fall semester, students will be greeted with new dining options in Memorial Union. Campus Dining Services plans to have a completely renovated edition of the Union Square food court to be fully functional by the end of August.

The existing options for students in Union Square include Hawthorn Homestyle Dining, Romano's Italian Cafe, Sara Lee Sandwich Shoppe and Applause! Coffeehouse. But these establishments could close on April 28 and in their wake, Wheatstone Bistro and Starbucks will come to campus, according to a PowerPoint presentation used by CDS to describe the changes.

The switch primarily serves to change Applause! into a Starbucks, mainly due to concerns of convenience because the coffeehouse brews Starbucks coffee but doesn't fully function as a Starbucks.

"First of all, we want to introduce the new coffeehouse," CDS Associate Director Steve Simpson said. "There is a certain amount of confusion in that we brew Starbucks coffee but we don't, for example, accept a Starbucks gift card."

Applause! participates in the "proudly brew" program, which means that though it brews coffee from beans purchased from the Starbucks company, it is not a member of the Starbucks chain.

The second part of the plan will replace the multiple food vendors with one, more centralized vendor offering a smaller variety of options.

"We will introduce a soup, salad, sandwich concept," Simpson said. "It's basically taking the Sara Lee that's already there and making it bigger and better."

According to the PowerPoint, Wheatstone Bistro will offer various other options including hummus and fruit and will include a Grab-n-Go option for students on the run.

CDS officials are hoping students will greet the change with open arms.

"Right now, our coffeehouse is a very good business, and we're hoping that this will improve what our consumers want, and it will be that much more convenient for them," Simpson said.

Some of the employees said they look forward to the change.

"I think it's a really good idea because I think an on-campus, student-chargeable Starbucks is something that a lot of students have wanted," said sophomore Laura Evans, who has worked at Union Square since January.

But some of the employees said they are not as pleased.

"Well, I'm bummed about the change," employee Cristi Parker said. "I think Applause! has a lot more charm than Starbucks will."

Parker hasn't worked at Union Square this semester, but she started a Facebook group calling for someone to "save Union Square." The group has 48 members.

But it doesn't seem that CDS is planning to fire any of its employees as a result of the change.

"We certainly hope not to decrease business, so there shouldn't be any decline in staff people," Simpson said.

Any employees who hope to work at the Starbucks once it opens will be required to go through official Starbucks training, which could be lengthy.

"It's going to be a pain for the students who work there because they require something between 20-40 hours of training over the summer," Evans said.

CDS is tentatively planning to have both the Starbucks and Wheatstone Bistro open on Aug. 15.