Matthew Mugmon: Dining's first big step

It was a stroke of genius.

Bringing a Subway to campus must have been one of the best retail moves the University has ever made.

One of the more recent additions to Subway's massive U.S. empire, the franchise at 1920 Commons is part of a miniature food court that also includes a spot for pizza, in case you're not as health conscious as the notorious Jared.

But what's most encouraging about the new addition to the campus dining landscape are its revolutionary payment options. Finally, students can use their PennCards -- either through a Bursar account or with Dining Dollars -- to pay for food from a real, credible and popular dining establishment.

Indeed, Subway is the new big thing -- and so it wasn't surprising that the place was jam-packed and overwhelmed on its opening day about a month ago. (Some other reputable campus spots, such as Huntsman Hall's Au Bon Pain, accept PennCard for payment, but none seem to have Subway's reach and popularity. Oddly, that Au Bon Pain, across Locust Walk from Subway, accepts Dining Dollars but not Bursar payments.)

And the city itself is jam-packed with Subways. Before October, you could walk to 34th Street and Lancaster Avenue for a foot-long sub. Or, you could make a visit to the Sunoco station just across the Walnut Street Bridge for a hoagie disguised as a Subway sandwich.

What makes Subway a perfect fit for Penn is not just the the perfect balance between healthy and fast, which Penn students always seem to crave.

At the new Subway, it's all in place. The rolls are fresh, the toppings are abundant and the assembly line is fairly quick.

To be sure, a few things are missing. Subway ought to serve customers on weekends. And its opening time of noon on weekdays is, well, a bit late.

This Subway, though, is inexpensive. Only years ago could you buy a foot-long ham sub for just $3.99.

Long ago, before today's seniors had yet reached campus, Houston Hall housed a Subway. Along with several other retail spots, it got booted when Houston Hall closed for renovations in 1998.

At its reopening in 2000, Houston Hall brought with it Houston Market, which, sure enough, accepts the PennCard for payment. But how good is Houston Market for Penn students and their appetites? Certainly not as good as Subway, or the ever-popular La Petite Creperie, which currently has a Houston Hall presence but does not accept PennCards.

With the new Subway, it would seem, Penn has learned something. The best way to cash in on Penn students is to offer them the best options and the easiest ways to pay for them.

It must also know that bringing a Subway to Houston Hall -- and not the western edge of campus -- or offering students the PennCard option at the Creperie would cut into Houston Market's business, just as it could undermine the viability of the dining halls.

Before the new Subway, students were faced with mixed messages about how to eat. Sign up for meal plans so you can build community at the dining halls. Go buy food at the Freshgrocer. Visit the Philly Diner.

The paradox of Penn's dining philosophy, which encourages students to eat in dining halls and to patronize local establishments at the same time, seems permanent.

And now? Use your PennCard at Subway, which offers off-campus-style food on campus. I'm more confused than ever.

Rather than partnering with local establishments to connect Penn meal plans with the purchase of food along the lines of the new on-campus Subway, Penn watches while new programs, like the Philly Meal Plan, try to capitalize on students' penchant for off-campus options. With that program, students get a special dining card that works at several local spots just like a PennCard does at Subway.

Only when Penn takes a similar step and tries to develop a consistent points system that encompasses as many venues as possible -- dining halls, Houston Market, Subway, the Creperie and perhaps even the Freshgrocer and other off-campus food spots -- will Penn's customers, the students, get the options they want.

I'm not counting on Penn to take that step. After all, the dining halls and Houston Market might well fall casualty to a system that allows students maximum choice in dining.

Let's just hope the new Subway isn't Penn's last stop on that path.

Matthew Mugmon is a senior Classical Studies major from Columbia, Md., and executive editor of The Daily Pennnsylvanian .

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.