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Added Pearse, “It was cool, because I was meeting with the which features a variety of Asian cuisines, including Thai and
RAs and there were more than 250 students in an auditorium. Vietnamese. “It is a concept that was created by Mai Pham,”
Michelle had this software called Poll Anywhere. We could ac- he said. “All of the cooking is out front. You can see the woks
tually see on the screen as they were choosing the concept they going right behind the line.”
wanted. We only gave them one choice. You could actually watch Nikos Café is a Greek venue that was also created by an
the bars go up and down with the results. It was like watching alumnus of the school. “They had a restaurant downtown across
a game show.” the street from one of the hospitals called Anton’s,” he said.
Another concept in the area —Halal Shack — is one that “It is Mediterranean, so it is the gyros, souvlaki; and he does
is operated by an alumnus of the university. “He came to me a breakfast sandwich in a pita bread, which is very popular.
last January or February regarding a sauce he developed called His version of the white sauce is a tzaziki sauce, which he also
Spin Sauce,” said Pearse. “It is a Middle Eastern white sauce. makes. There are two vertical spits.”
He brought samples and I tried it and the stuff is amazing. The Hissho Sushi, a national brand, offers students sushi made
relationship started with the Spin Sauce.” throughout the day. Rounding out the other foodservice offer-
Pearse decided to approach him about providing a concept in ings are Stocks and Stems, which offers soups and build-your-
the Campus Center. “He owns a restaurant in a local town, and I own salads; Cusato’s, which is run by a local entrepreneur, and
asked him if he would be interested in opening a venue here. It features pizza; and a Starbucks.
turns out he had actually been thinking about this exact concept As previously featured in the April 2015 issue of On-Campus
for about two years, but hadn’t put it together and didn’t have Hospitality, 518 Market was also renovated as part of the overall
a place. It is basically a rice or zoodle bowl with halal chicken changes to the Campus Center. The renovation was necessary
or beef with lettuce, tomato, onion and a choice of sauce. It is because the new plans for the Campus Center meant that the
actually our No. 2 sales venue behind the grill. It is extremely door to the market, which was previously on the south side of
popular. It is way more popular than any of us anticipated.” the space, had to be moved to the east side of the facility.
The Fountain Grill offers traditional grill items, along with The newly renovated Campus Center is part of an overhaul of
all-day breakfast. “It is a diner-type of menu,” he said. “They Dining Services on campus. “We revamped our meal plans and
also have really good milkshakes.” closed one of the traditional resident dining halls,” said Pearse. “It
Also part of this area are SubConnection and Jazzman’s was a bit of a shakeup. I truly believe that if the Campus Center
Café, which are both proprietary brands of Sodexo, the campus didn’t open and perform and look and feel and operate the way it
foodservice provider. does, it would have been very negative. Because of the options
The main area of the renovated Campus Center features a and the quality of the food that is offered, it has been a win.”
number of new venues, including Damien’s Deli, named for the
school’s mascot. “Damien’s is a New York-style deli with hot
carved meats and house-made potato chips and pickles,” said
Pearse. “It is an upscale type of deli.”
Another Sodexo concept — Tres Habanero — features
Mexican cuisine. “It is very popular, and features quesadillas,
burritos and burrito bowls,” said Pearse.
Also part of the Campus Center is national brand Star Ginger,

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