The dining hall was a different place when Bob Hamblet (SFS ‘89) went to Georgetown. “Probably the most interesting thing I remember is the alcohol in the dining room,” he recalled. “When I was a first-year, the drinking age in D.C. was 18. Every month or two, the cafeteria would have a special meal-Oktoberfest, Thanksgiving dinner, St. Patrick’s Day-and they would serve beer.”
A Varsity swimmer, Hamblet never fully partook in the boozing, but admitted, “Some people did. I remember one guy getting a tray of cups of beer and trying to drink them all. His only problem was that he had to go to the bathroom, but to do that, he had to leave the cafeteria and would not be able to get back in.”
A lot has changed in the cafeteria since then.
“People forget we’ve been with Marriott for 20 something years; our contract with them has evolved and changed,” Margie Bryant, the Associate Vice President of Auxilary Services, explained.
However, the last two years have shown that, as important as it seems, the catering contract itself has very little to do with a Georgetown student’s dining experience. Both students and administrators now realize that it’s the little things that make a difference, and, more importantly, administrators realize that students are more than willing to speak out about what they need and want.
Since Marriott has catered Georgetown’s meal plans, both institutions have constantly evolved. Ten years ago, the University merged its hotel, conference center and cafeteria contracts into one single plan. That was the last time Georgetown renewed Marriott’s cafeteria contract, which expires next spring.
Many students believe that the problem with the food is the caterer. This complaint especially resonates with Eamonn Carr (CAS ‘06), GUSA’s Secretary of Housing and Facilities, who, like Bryant, understands the importance of listening to students. Carr said that the contract change or renewal will only mean good things for Georgetown Dining Services. While many students are skeptical of Georgetown’s open bidding process to find a replacement after next spring, both Bryant and Carr insist that the school will objectively consider numerous options and choose the best one.
Competition is not a bad thing. After 10 years and with over 70 percent of students on meal plans-and over 90 percent of on-campus residents with a plan-the cafeteria may have grown lazy. In January, the D.C. Department of Health cited Dining Services for some “serious violations,” such as mold in the soda machines and fruit flies. Since then, managers have found new ways to clean the soda machines. Still, many students believe there is no excuse for such lapses when they are paying so much; they want changes. Replacing Marriott may not be easy, though.
“We’re going to have committees with students on them,” Carr explained. “But we have to remember that Leo’s is a top-of-the-line facility. We need to choose a company that will provide good food, but they also have to be able to handle the demand.”
He also insists that changing Marriott’s contract would not hurt its relationship with Georgetown and that the relationship will also not affect Georgetown’s willingness to provide the best possible options for its students.
“It really is the students’ plans and wishes,” Bryant insists. “We obviously try to look at what students want on their meal plans.”
Bryant helped create the Dining Services website this year, which not only provides information such as dining hall hours and menus for students, but also has a comment section, where students can post their thoughts.
The site has received over 100 comments, both anonymous and signed. The e-mails are then passed on to cafeteria managers and, if the products are available, managers can make changes immediately. Other times, managers must order new products or equipment. Requests for sugar-free Jello took only two weeks to make it to Darnall Hall. Due to the online request system, sandwiches in Leo’s have been revolutionized. Both the panini maker and the newly widened selection of roast beef and other deli meats are the result of student requests.
“I can make incredible subs every day,” Arthur Delaney (CAS ‘05) said. “I’ve noticed the changes; there’s more and more variety every day.”
Variety has always been the goal of Georgetown Dining Services.
“We know students can get tired of eating in the same place every day. With more of their feedback, we can now add more of what students want,” Bryant said. “We’ve always had student feedback from comment cards, but sometimes we couldn’t read them, or sometimes we couldn’t respond to the students.”
With the new online system, Bryant said that she receives feedback in unprecedented numbers, and, unlike with hand-written comment cards, she can respond easily to non-anonymous requests.
“Most of the problem is an information gap; a student will ask for grilled cheese on tomato soup day,” Bryant explained. “What they don’t know, and what I e-mail them, is that we always have bread and we always have cheese. The staff is more than happy to make you a grilled cheese any time you wish. We are your kitchen. If you don’t see it, ask.”
Georgetown Dining Services considers this communication essential. GUSA has also worked to facilitate communication between students and Dining Services.
“Just look at Grab and Go,” Carr pointed out. “They were successful because administrators and students worked together.”
The Student Food Committee proposed and helped implement the Grab and Go program. The group of eight to 10 students meets regularly with Margie Bryant and Dining Hall managers to voice new ideas, wishes, complaints and suggestions. Even before Grab and Go, the Student Food Committee had been working with Dining Services and are also responsible for waffle makers in Leo’s and Darnall.
Students must eat their meals in the dining halls but, with Grab and Go, pre-packed salads and sandwiches, busy students are still able to eat when they’re on the run. Leo’s distributes between 575 and 675 a day, many more than any other school Bryant knows of. The lunches have been such a success that the Student Food Committee and dining services are expanding Grab and Go options. There will soon be a vegetarian Portobello mushroom burger, a more varied selection and possibly the addition of Grab and Go dinners.
Students are starting to take note of the changes.
“I love that dining hall; it’s so freaking good,” Delaney said. As transfer student from Rutgers University, he actually has something other than his mother’s cooking to compare Leo’s to. “My only complaint is that the panini machine is downstairs and the deli meat upstairs. I should say something on the web site about that.” He shook his head as if correcting himself, quickly adding, “What am I talking about, I should just ask someone there. They’re so nice, they even cook stuff when you ask them.”
Delaney is more in the know than most students. Dining Service’s goal is not just to foster better communication between students and Dining Services but also to give students more information about their dining options. Although this communication has begun through the website’s information section, changes will be more apparent next year.
Dining Services currently uses a 28-day rotating menu cycle, but for next year, there will be a single, semester-long menu posted at the end of the summer on the website. This will not only provide more variety, but will also allow students to plan their meals farther ahead.
“I was on the University of Florida’s dining services website last week, when I saw they have big screen videogame tournaments in their cafeteria,” she said pulling up the website. “We could definitely do that here. Do you think students would want it?”
Georgetown’s own web site is modeled after the dining services website at the University of Florida, a school that Bryant praises for its excellent interaction with students.
Through student feedback, Dining Services has learned that the information that students both lack and want the most is nutritional information. Although students can request nutritional information on regular items such as pizza, entrees’ ingredients and serving sizes are still too varied to calculate their nutritional value and caloric contents. Bryant wants to change this. Next year, Dining Services will hire a nutritionist to plan healthy meal choices as well as provide more nutritional information to students.
Some students are more concerned with the flavor than the nutrition, however, complaining that the problem is not the selection, but the food itself.
“I mean, I can eat it, but it doesn’t taste good.” Michael Fleck (CAS ‘07) said. “But it doesn’t taste bad either,” he added contemplatively, almost confused. “You know, it doesn’t have much of a taste at all.”
“We want what students want,” Carr insists. “Just look at Hoya Court.”
Students rarely visit Hoya Court, a vast space in Leavey reserved for tired looking med students and the occasional book store employee. Partially lit by harsh fluorescent lights, ketchup wrappers litter the maroon and gray tiled floor. Occasionally soft rock elevator music plays softly in the background while a muted basketball game or the evening news plays on the big screen television in the corner. The dreary food court is currently run by Marriott, which serves Burgers on the Run, Sub Connection and La Vincita Pizzeria; they’re not exactly crowd pleasers. In September of 2005, however, Hoya Court will reopen under a new vendor with new restaurant choices.
Because the details of the contract are currently being finalized, Carr cannot release the name of the vendor or the restaurants, but said, “I can tell you that the vendor is not Marriott, you can use your debit dollars from your GOcard and the restaurants will be those you would see in every shopping mall across the nation.”
Carr reiterated the importance of student feedback in explaining Hoya Court, saying that before talking to students, the University had originally planned a more formal dining center, somewhat like Hoya’s restaurant in Leavey. He insists that student feedback will also be involved in the new Dining Services contract next spring.
“There are so many options,” he said excitedly. “We can change vendors and even if we keep Marriott, there are a lot of new changes and options we can put in place.”
One such option would be the way that food is served. Rather than the current self-service system, food might be laid out in preset servings on plates, much the way one would be served in a restaurant.
Another important question is what to do with Darnall Hall. The old New South Cafeteria was too small to accommodate all students with meal plans, but with Leo’s, Darnall is no longer necessary. This opens up the space for a variety of new possabilities. It could continue to be a second cafeteria with a smaller catering company, different from Marriott or whichever company gets Leo’s contract next spring. The space could also be completely revamped and opened as some type of specialty caf?, like a smoothie bar or health food cafeteria. Dining services believes something new will both provide more variety for students and attract new students to meal plans.
“We’ll have to hear what students have to say, you know, get the pulse,” Carr said after rattling off a long list of Darnall Hall possibilities. “It will also create a little competition between the dining halls to attract students.”
With the competition of inexpensive neighborhood restaurants and a large number of students, many students are opting to forgo meal plans all together.
Michael Basile, the food and beverage coordinator for the conference center and guesthouse, does not find the prices too high, though.
“Door prices are based on local restaurant prices and what local restaurants cost,” Basile explained.
Georgetown’s prices are comparable to other universities. American University charges $1,927 for its semester unlimited plan, while Georgetown charges $1,700. AU offers a very different dining system, however, and a variety of extremely flexible plans. Cornell University is known for its excellent food; many students consider it better than home cooking. However, Cornell students also pay $2,375 for their unlimited plans, which include $400 in debit dollars and eight guest passes. Compared to these schools along with the University of Pennsylvania, Villanova and Notre Dame, Georgetown actually had the cheapest, if not the most flexible, meal plan options.
“My twin brother goes to Boston College, which has the debit system, and he spent the same thing I did with the unlimited plan,” Francisco Agzarian (CAS ‘07) said. “I like that it’s all you can eat. I think you really get what you pay for.”
Basile disagreed, explaining that by establishing good relationships with minority vendors such as Chesapeake Bagel Bakery and Starbucks Coffee, Georgetown’s food is extremely high quality.
The same caterers who manage Leo’s have catered dinner for the 1789 Society, made up of people who have donated $1 million or more to Georgetown. Obviously, 1789ers don’t get the same seafood stew students eat, but students still seem as frustrated as ever with their food.
“Don’t just complain; tell us how to fix it,” Bryant said. “We get some great demands. I share them with the managers to see if we can meet them and do you know what? Most of the time we can.”
