HisNory of Changes in Norris

RUMORS OF VARIOUS DINING OPTIONS HAVE BEEN FLOATING AROUND NORTHWESTERN’S CAMPUS. THESE ARE IN REACTION TO THE SPACE LEFT BY VIET NOM NOM. A NEW ADDITION TO THE NORRIS UNIVERSITY CENTER FOOD SCENE SEEMS LIKELY.

BUT TODAY ON WNUR NEWS, OUR FOCUS ISN’T WHAT COULD BE, IT’S WHAT HAS BEEN. BECAUSE BEFORE WILDCAT DELI, THERE WAS SUBWAY. BEFORE MOD PIZZA, THERE WAS THE KILN, AND BEFORE THAT THERE WAS SBARRO. 

SINCE ITS GROUNDBREAKING IN 1973, NORTHWESTERN’S STUDENT CENTER HAS UNDERGONE NUMEROUS CHANGES. THE NORRIS WE HAVE NOW ISN’T VERSION 2.0 OR EVEN 3.0, IT’S MORE LIKE VERSION OMEGA. 

THROUGHOUT THAT TIME, WHY AND HOW HAVE THESE CHANGES OCCURRED?

SOMETIMES, LIKE IN THE CASE OF VIET NOM NOM, ECONOMIC REASONS CAUSE THE RESTAURANT TO CLOSE. THEN THAT DINING OPTION LEAVES NORRIS INDEPENDENT OF ANY ACTION FROM THE SCHOOL. 

HOWEVER, MORE COMMON IS A GENERAL SWITCH UP OF FOOD OPTIONS IN NORRIS BASED ON STUDENT DEMAND. 

ACCORDING TO DAN FOLEY, THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AT NORRIS, THE RETAIL FOOD OPTIONS IN NORRIS LAST FOR ABOUT FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS AT A TIME. 

[DAN FOLEY] -We try to refresh those -somewhat -frequently —-um -not -I mean -not too frequently -to -so that -it’s always changing -but -we want —both consistency ———and -to meet students where they’re at. 

A BIG PLAYER IN THIS PROCESS IS COMPASS GROUP. COMPASS GROUP IS THE FOOD COMPANY NORTHWESTERN CONTRACTED IN 2018. 

[DF] The way that works is Compass -is responsible -for —-um -providing all -of that food -service, right? ——what —Mod or –we have, -you -know, -um ——um -Starbucks or something like -that. -We -work in partnership with them to determine what the -best options -are —um and -that is all -kind of developed -based -off -of student -feedback -through -surveys, -various other -things. 

THIS WHOLE OPERATION OF REFRESHING AND REVISING IS WHAT HAPPENED WITH PATTI SQUARED. AFTER ABOUT FIVE YEARS, NORTHWESTERN’S PARTNERSHIP WITH PATTY SQUARED ENDED. IN CAME BUEN DIA AND 847 BURGER. 

IF YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD OF BUEN DIA OR 847 BURGER BEFORE THEY CAME TO NORTHWESTERN, THAT’S BECAUSE BOTH ARE CONCEPTS DEVELOPED BY COMPASS. WHICH, FOLEY SAYS, HAS ITS BENEFITS. 

[DF] The one thing that’s great -about Compass -is —-uh -if —-uh Doesn’t work. It’s -a -um -burger 847 —uh -or -at -uh ——-buendia. –They -can change the -menu -that’s completely up to them —in some of our -branded Concepts, like Starbucks -or –mod —-um -which are -entities that exist outside of Northwestern. ——It’s -a little harder -to tweak their -menus -because -they’re -a national -brand. 

TO JUNIOR ASHLYN TU, MENU FLEXIBILITY ISN’T REALLY WORTH IT. ESPECIALLY SINCE SHE NO LONGER HAS MEAL EXCHANGES.

[ASHLYN TU] I feel like right now it’s -not -like -trade-offs, -not worth -it —-because ——-like -after —–uh -having a meal sites, -I don’t have students like going -to those -places, —but I hear students buying -Starbucks -uh mod. ——-Yeah. -And like they -would totally buy -Subway —-Jamba -uh -Juice. 

AND FOR WEINBERG FRESHMAN RHYS HALABY, MAINSTREAM IS THE WAY TO GO. 

[RHYS HALABY]I wish that they would –replace -a lot of those -places with places that -I like -more —–that serve the -same style -of food, –you -know. ——-So ——-I wish -they’d replace -mod at -the -better. -Pizza place. I -wish they’d -replace -buendia —–uh with –Chipotle —uh or a better –Mexican place ——-and -I wish -they’d replace —847 -burger with -five, guys,

IN ADDITION TO VARIOUS LOCAL RESTAURANTS, NORRIS HAS TOUTED NATIONAL CHAINS LIKE JAMBA JUICE, SUBWAY, AND SBARRO IN THE PAST. 

TO NORTHWESTERN STUDENTS, THESE MAINSTREAM BRANDS MIGHT ACTUALLY BE PREFERABLE. 

DESPITE FOLEY’S AND THE UNIVERSITY’S EFFORTS

[DF] more than anything —I -rely -on student -feedback -um -to determine —what direction we want -to —-nudge, -our partners in –uh -to -see what we -can do to -better meet -student -needs. 

NORRIS RIGHT NOW APPEARS TO BE A DISTANCE AWAY FROM WHAT STUDENTS TRULY WANT. 

FOR WNUR NEWS, I’M MICHELLE HWANG