New changes to Dixie State University’s dining services aim toward any time dining and ruling out future franchises.
Martin Peterson, director of campus dining services, said after student surveys, feedback groups and working with David Porter, food service consultant and CEO of Porter Khouw Consulting, last spring, he decided anytime dining is the best food service for DSU’s cafeteria.
Any time dining will include a set price to eat, kind of like a Golden Corral or Chuck-A-Rama, he said.
Franchises wouldn’t work with any time dining because they are sale-based, require royalties, and in some cases a lot of remodeling, Peterson said. Even Subway will be moved down the hall closer to the The Market at Dixie this school year as dining services makes this transition, he said.
Don Steck, executive director of facility services, said the goal for DSU is not to make a profit but to break even.
“We are not trying to generate profits to be used elsewhere in the college,” Steck said. “We are trying to provide good food and good service with the money we generate.”
Dining services are still early in the planning stages, but a few steps have been taken, Peterson said.
What’s new
Red Rock Cafe rebranded into the Trailblazers Cafe this summer.
Dining services also renamed three of the food court options to go with the mascot theme, revamped the menus, and extended the open hours to 10 p.m., Peterson said.
Brook’s Range had about a 90 percent menu change, Bisonte’s Italian Kitchen had about an 80 percent menu change, and the Wild Wok had about a 75 percent menu change, Peterson said.
“Students, faculty and staff seem to be coming here a little bit more,” he said. “Hopefully, as students get used to the extended hours, they will start to come a little later too.”
McKayDee McDonald, a freshman biology major from West Jordan, said she eats at the cafe every day and likes the food, but thinks there is room for improvement.
“One thing I don’t like is I have friends who are gluten free medically, and there isn’t a lot of options for [them] or people who are diabetic,” she said.
Peterson said dining services is trying to transition toward healthier options and avoiding certain food allergies like gluten.
Coming soon
Steck said the future of Trailblazer Cafe is a 10,000 square feet expansion, which will double the seating capacity and triple the food court area.
The cafe was undersized even before the new housing complex and increase in student population this year, he said.
“We are trying to run from behind, but we are looking to expand the facility within the next few years,” Steck said.
The expansion will cost about $6 million, and Steck said he would like the expansion to be built in the next few years, but money and donations will determine the timeline.
To help with the transition, Subway will be relocated farther down the hall this year, Peterson said. Dining services is also putting together a Dining Advisory Committee to help with feedback, menu development and plan this expansion, he said.
“We would love to even see a hundred [students] who are willing to give a little bit of their time and help us become better,” Peterson said.
