Renovations, changes in store for Dining

The University believes it can best cater to the needs of Penn students. Two weeks have passed since the University made its decision not to outsource Dining Services and administrators are already discussing plans to revamp the current facilities and improve meal plan options. Although Penn will continue to operate its dining halls, it signed a letter of intent with the Menlo Park, Calif.-based Bon Appetit Management Co. to operate food services facilities in the Perelman Quadrangle, serve as a consultant in restructuring Dining and act as the University's primary caterer. There would have been no financial advantage to outsourcing Dining, Associate Vice President for Campus Services Larry Moneta said. Hospitality Services Director Don Jacobs added that the decision was made so that Dining "could more closely attune to the objectives of the college houses." He said the main factor was figuring out exactly what students want. "I think Penn has a tradition of being more responsive," he said, comparing the school to Harvard, Yale and Princeton universities. "I absolutely truly don't believe that any outside entity could understand the Penn objective other than people that work at Penn," he added. Jacobs claimed there is "no connection" between the University's decision not to outsource Dining and the plans to renovate the facilities, noting that "we'd renovate either way." In the last 17 months, administrators have travelled to several universities around the country, touring various dining facilities and studying different food service options. Plans to renovate Penn's facilities "began in the midst of the dining study," Moneta said. He added that one of the things administrators learned during their research is that "environment is very much a factor in people's perceptions of quality." The University plans to renovate each of the four dining halls in the next four to five years, according to Associate Vice President for Business Services Marie Witt. One goal is to implement an "open-kitchen, display cooking process," Witt said. Moneta described a dining hall model with a "very different" environment from the one Penn currently maintains. The future dining halls will have open grills and a visible food preparation process, with the chefs conducting "restaurant-style" cooking demonstrations. Moneta could not offer a timeframe for when the renovations would begin, but said he would "love to do something within the next 18 months." Jacobs added that the weekend meal plan "experiment" -- which made its debut this fall -- is going to change. Dining had expected to have 700 students "on contract" at this point but only has 500, he said. Moneta confirmed that Dining will continue to operate during the weekends but will split the meal plan options into three sets: a set of weekday plans, a set of weekend plans and a set of both. "With the advent of Penn Cash there will be more options, so you don't feel like you have to get all the meals at Dining," Jacobs said. Penn Cash could likely be used in the new Houston Hall food service facilities once renovations to connect the building to College, Logan and Williams halls and Irvine Auditorium are completed as part of the Perelman Quad project. There will be no "fast food" -- such as the existing Subway or Burger King -- in the new Houston Hall, according to Bon Appetit Chief Executive Officer Fidele Bauccio. Bauccio said his company's seasonal, restaurant-oriented food options will accommodate the needs of all students, including vegetarians and vegans. The firm will be conducting focus groups and "getting to know the community" on campus beginning this summer. But first, University administrators are looking toward a more immediate goal -- hiring a managing director for food services. This "food service guru," as Jacobs labeled the position, would serve as a liaison between Dining, Bon Appetit and Trammel Crow Co., the Dallas-based firm which took over Penn's facilities management yesterday.

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