DESIGN — Pat Case Dining Center at TU: Fine Dining on Campus
When the University of Tulsa (TU) in Oklahoma received a multi-million dollar donation from a donor and trustee to renovate the Twin Towers cafeteria, the goal was to create a facility that would have a different look, feel and variety than one you might expect on a college campus.
The Pat Case Dining Center in Fisher Hall seems to have met that goal successfully. The exterior features a new pavilion for dining outdoors that blends with the historic Gothic architecture that exists on the TU campus. The interior reflects a contemporary design with dark and light woods with bright and warm finishes. “TU worked with an interior decorator named Phil Long, as well as an architectural firm named Beck Designs in Tulsa,” said Mike Neal, general manager with Sodexo, the campus foodservice provider. “They put together a very nice plan for the university and for the décor.” Read more...
THE BACK PAGE — Healthy Retail
National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS) benchmarking results confirm it year after year — it's very difficult to maintain a positive bottom line in the world of collegiate retail dining. And yet most dining directors are under increasing pressure to accomplish just that.
Often retail managers and directors feel their value to campus administrators rests solely on their ability to be profitable. Sadly, many campuses opt to partner with the fast-food industry to meet their retail needs, thereby offering students, faculty and staff a known entity with a financial return which can often translate into a “safe” and profitable partnership for many administrators. A traditional retail model that offers a cooked-from-scratch menu is harder to “sell” to administrators and can be fiscally challenging for the operator but satisfyingly healthier than fast food. Read more...