Karina Gonzalez
The cafeteria is seeing red and trying to make up for its $100,000 debt.
According to Larry Kraus, associated vice president of the office of development and enterprise, the options are being weighed in order to figure out if the cafeteria will be open this summer.
“The cafeteria is a self-supporting entity, that when it loses money, it’s money out of the college’s pocket,” Kraus said.
He said the final decision will be made within the following weeks.
In the mean time, student workers are getting their hours cut by an hour each day in order to try and save some money, said Linda Brown, food services supervisor and cafeteria manager.
Brown assured that no one was going to be let go.
The change has workers upset and many declined to speak to The Roundup.
According to full-time employee Adela Mendez, several did say there were already looking for other jobs and do not plan on finishing the semester since they have already have been advised to get a summer job.
The only workers not affected by the cuts are workers under the Federal Work Study Program, said Brown.
According to Brian Silk, administrative analyst for the enterprise office, the current figures show that the cafeteria is expected to bring in a little more than $400,000 but is expected to spend more than $530,000 between March 31 and June 30 of this fiscal year.
Brown said that throughout the years the profit margin for the cafeteria has been steadily decreasing and the losses have been higher.
Kraus said, “The manager is responsible for the effective and successful operations of the business.”
Pierce College President Robert Garber said, “The cafeteria is a remnant of the past.”
However, he did say food service is critical to the college.
He did allude to the bid, which is due back today, to bring someone in from the outside to build and operate a food court.
Garber said he eats at the cafeteria at least once a week and that he appreciates all the hard work the staff puts into keeping it running, but wants to see the food court realized.
Kraus said, “What we’re trying to do is deal with what customers want.”
According to several surveys done in the past, customers are looking for a clean and interactive environment with fresh healthy fast food, said Kraus.
There is also a demand for ethnic food as well, he said.
Kraus added that price is also a major issue and that by bringing in someone else would help ease the hole in student pockets.
Another factor for why it may close for the summer is enrollment. During the spring semester there are approximately 18, 000 students while during the summer that number drops to 3,000.
Ian O’Neil, 24, a full-time philosophy student, said it wouldn’t be that much of a loss if it were to close down.
He said that the addition of deli fresh sandwiches is a good idea and might help bring more students in.
However, he would rather spend his time and money at the cafeteria’s competition, The Freudian Sip.
“The difference between them is like night and day, a modern caf√© verse a 1980s middle-school cafeteria.”
He added that if it were under new management, it might get the fix-up it needs.
Amalia Mastro, 48, a full-time student said she eats at the cafeteria everyday because she can find fresh home cooked food.
Although, she does like the coffee at the Sip, she hates the prices and prefers the variety and space the cafeteria provides.
Mastro also suggested that if the cafeteria were to have the same environment as the Sip then may be it would be a self-sustaining entity.
Brown said that although she was given the option to fire two employees or cut hours, she decided to cut hours.
Another option, although hesitant to do it, is raise prices.
“I hate to do it to students,” she said.
Brown said these options would extend into the following semester and into the summer if there were to be one for the cafeteria.
She then added that if the cafeteria is open during the summer, they will not be serving hot food, but rather only frozen food items, chips, sandwiches, drinks and soup.