Karina Gonzalez
After decades of wavering certainty with regard to the Cafeteria’s future, supervisor Linda Brown found the worries of last semester humorous.
“It’s nothing new; they’ve been hanging this over our heads for twenty years,” she explained with a chuckle.
In May, Pierce College President Robert Garber predicted the Cafeteria’s demise, calling it “a remnant of the past.”
But this semester, not only is the venue still open, it’s freshly renovated and ready to out-feed its biggest competitor, the Freudian Sip.
The most notable of its renovations, a full deli, will soon feature hot sandwiches as well as homemade pre-packaged grab-n-go food for students without the time for the deli line. Also yet to come are new signs and a deli menu board.
To date, none of the original products or services has been cut.
In fact, Brown expressed interest in adding still more features to boost sales, despite fears of diminishing floor space.
More specifically, Brown suggested the possibilities of on-campus delivery and phone-in pick-up orders in the future.
Whether or not business so far is indeed better in relation to last semester, only time will tell. Trends are hard to predict this early on, as Brown explained, because the initial rush of students can be deceiving.
At this point, she continued, we’re simply recovering costs, citing the old adage, “You have to spend money to make money.”
Those costs, according to Enterprise Manager Larry Kraus, amount to roughly $10,000, and ought to be repaid in about a year.
“I’m looking forward to new approaches to customer service, new products and new services to enhance the experience and the quality of the food,” said Kraus.
The Cafeteria is open Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and the new deli is open from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.