At its May 29 and 30 meetings the University of Louisiana system approved Sodexho to be the food contractor at Nicholls over the next ten years. Sodexho has also proposed an expansion of their food services which will include a Chick-Fil-A inside the snack bar area, Caf’ A La Cart located in Powell-White Hall and a Sub Connection inside the privatized housing complex.
“I had no doubts that Sodexho’s contract with Nicholls would be renewed. ARAMARK did give us a run for our money, but I think the final decision came down to our past relationships with Nicholls,” Paul Beier, general manager for Sodexho, said.
According to Terry Dupre, assistant director for purchasing, the University is required to send out a Request For Proposal to get bids from food contractors who want to lease dining services on campus.
Sodexho has been the food services contractor for the university since 1993. Because Sodexho’s contract with the university ended in May, the date for the RFP release was March 19, 2003. The deadline for the food contactors’ response was April 1, 2003. The university only received two responses: Sodexho and ARAMARK.
According to the RFP, the food contractor for the university will be responsible for providing quality food services for student facilities on campus. These food services include Galliano cafeteria, student union food outlets and catering for special events held at the University .The food contractor would also be responsible for any renovations that will be made to the student union food area.
A committee of nine people consisting of five staff members two student representatives, 1 faculty representative and one person from the food service committee representative reviewed copies of the two responses and evaluated the presentations from both ARAMARK and Sodexho. The committee assigned points by following the criteria stated in the RFP and decided to recommend Sodexho as the University’s official food services contractor to the ULS. The final decision to approve Sodexho as the food service contractor was in the hands of the ULS.
The new contract Sodexho will have with the university will begin in June and will be for a ten year term with two five year renewal options. According to Dupre, during the five-year term Sodexho will be responsible for an annual lease payment of $300,000 per year and must give the university 15 percent commission on all cash sales. In addition, Sodexho is required to spend a minimum of $200,000 capital to improve either Galliano Hall Cafeteria or the snack bar area in the student union.
“In Sodexho’s response, they exceeded the amount of money for improvements by committing a total of $300,000 total capital for renovations. Sodexho will be investing $200,000 to renovate the student union. Of that money, $7500 will be dedicated to set up the convenient store and deli inside the privatized housing. The other $2500 will be allocated to setting up a Caf a’ la Cart in Powell-White Hall,” Dupre said.
” It is sort of exciting that our food services are going to expand, because when the students come back in the fall they love all of the creative changes Sodexho has made,” Brenda Haskins, director of union services, said. “One of our main goals was to bond with the incoming freshman to help with recruitment and with the retention problem.”
According to Beier, Sodexho will keep Godfather’s pizza but get rid of the snack bar area in the student union and replace it with a food court that will be more appealing to the students. The food court will consist of a Chick-Fil-A, Jazzman’s Coffee House and a Sky Ranch Grill.
“With the addition of the food court, the former snack bar area will bring three brand name concepts which will be more visually attractive, have modern station set ups, intense smells and have music playing for the students,” Beier said.
The Caf-A-La-Cart will be a mobile unit that will be placed in Powell- White Hall. Caf-A-La Cart will be a convenient store unit. The food will all be produced in the cafeteria and sent to the unit.
The cafeteria will remain open from 6:45 am to 7 pm and will offer more opportunities for students to eat. Students will now be able to eat in between scheduled meal times. Sodexho will now offer a type of continental breakfast and a light lunch consisting of a soup and salad. Sodexho will once again be offering a to-go box program for students who are busy but want to eat the cafeteria food. This will consist of students purchasing a” go pass card” from a cashier, which will allow them to go to the front of the lunch line and get their to-go box filled. The students must return the “go pass card” in order to leave with the to-go box.
The convenient store in the privatized housing will be a Sub Connection that will serve the students po-boys, sandwiches, soups and salads. Students will also be able to purchase bread, milk, snacks and a small line of toiletries.
“We feel that Sodexho has had a good relationship with the University because we understand what food services the students expect. We do not only provide a service, but if something is not right we sit down to discuss the problem and get it fixed,” Beier said. ” I have enjoyed working with Brenda Haskins because she looks out for Sodexho as much as Sodexho looks out for the university. In a way, we help each other out.”
According to Brenda Haskins, all of the new renovations to the student union snack bar area should be ready for the fall of 2003. She said she is happy Sodexho’s contract with the university has been renewed because she” will be proud to utilize the changes and it will be an exciting time for the department.”
“I have always had favorable reports about the food operations Sodexho has provided. Sodexho has been an overall good contractor. The current management staff is absolutely wonderful and seems energetic in regarding their food service contract with the university,” Dupre said.