After months of impressive proposals and carful deliberations, Loyola has finally announced that Sodexo contracts will be renewed as the dining service on campus for the next 10 years.
The process was competitive between two proposals presented by Sodexo and another company called Chartwells, but the college decided to continue its relationship with Sodexo, which has provided dining services for Loyola students since July 1973. The company is excited to be a part of the Loyola community in the coming years.
"When I first heard about the contract renewal with Sodexo, I was a bit skeptical. I was hoping for a new company to come in and change what food is offered on campus. But once I heard about all the changes Sodexo was making to improve the eating facilities I got excited. It seems they worked hard to put a plan together to give students a new variety of choices," said Kelsey Formalarie, '12.
As a committee of administrators reviewed each proposal, Sodexo representatives never lost confidence in the proposal they gave. "We were very excited about the ideas we came up with, and we were very proud of the creativity and innovation that went into our proposal," said Laurie Kostyk, business director of Sodexo.
Laurie was part of a team made on campus, including Sodexo's regional marketing team, managers of Primo's and Boulder, as well as the chefs who cook the food on the current menus. All of these people were invaluable as they discussed ideas to present to Loyola because they brought expertise from all the different areas of a dining service.
"We saw a lot of exciting things in the Sodexo plan that we think will be great changes for the dining offered to students on campus," said Helen Schneider, assistant vice president for campus services.
Sodexo's proposal specified many changes. A 10-year plan has not been made yet, although plans have been made for the next two years. Changes will begin in Boulder this coming summer. "What we put together was a plan that is going to be phased in over the next several years," said Kostyk.
A fully licensed Starbucks will be introduced sometime in the next two years. Boulder will house a Moe's Southwest Grill and a new Boar's Head deli counter. Cyclone's salad will be upgraded to offer a new entrée salad station and negotiations are underway with a new Italian restaurant, expected to improve the Italian foods currently offered.
"A lot of colleges use food to make money, but we changed that philosophy. We just want to provide the best options for our students, which is why we went with the Sodexo proposal," said Schneider.
In the second year plan, Primo's will see extensive changes. The seating arrangements will be renovated to improve the traffic flow and create a better atmosphere for community gathering. A bakery-café and new convenience store will also be added to Primo's.
In a more long-term vision for the changes in dining services, the Stacks and Rappz area will eventually house a "Global Market," which will offer an array of ethnic foods, such as Indian and Mediterranean, to provide a new variety of choices.
It is also a hope to create a "Nature's Market" so that local produce and organic products will be available year-round.
In addition to new food venues in both dining halls, the hours of operation will also be changed. "We had a lot of conversations with students, and we received a lot of feedback either from focus groups or dining committee meetings. One of the direct impacts of these were the hours of operations needed to change to better serve students on campus," said Kostyk.
A refresh fund is also going to be created in order to compensate for venues that may prove to be unpopular with the students, or to create new venues in order to keep choices of food fresh. It is the goal of Sodexo to make improvements according to the desires of the students.
Paying for food will continue to be a la carte, meaning students will not be limited to a meal plan. Food prices will also continue to be competitive. Sodexo representatives look at restaurants surrounding Loyola to determine price points for the meals served to students.
Loyola students are encouraged to check out the dining services website at loyola.edu/dining_services/ to see what changes are going to be made, as well as to post their own thoughts as to what they would like to see in the food venues offered on campus.
Be the first to comment on this article!