UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 4, Page 4
September 26, 1991
Changes beginning at campus dining facilities

     Randy Clay, resident district manager of the University of
Delaware Dining Services, has been on campus since July, but he's
been in the restaurant business a bit longer-for 25 years, to be
exact.
     At Delaware, Clay serves as the primary liaison between the
campus operations and ARA Services of Radnor, Pa.
     Clay said he was involved in the negotiations that resulted in
ARA obtaining the contract for dining services at the University
and, since the decision was made, he's been involved in getting the
best food at the best price to the thousands of students, faculty
and staff who use the dining halls and facilities daily.
     "Our objective," Clay said, "is to make the University of
Delaware the absolute showcase of campus dining of any place in the
United States. In terms of new students, I'd like Dining Services
to be a recruiting tool-to be so good and positive that people will
talk about what a great job the University of Delaware is doing
with dining."
     Barbara Kreppel, assistant vice president for administrative
services, works closely with Clay to make sure that University
departments and groups needing Dining Services are satisfied with
the results. These units, Kreppel explained, are as diverse as the
campus, ranging from Housing and Residence Life to alumni
relations, from student affairs to continuing education.
     "I make sure that we get the attention that ARA has agreed to
provide and that it is accomplished in a way that meets the
individual unit's needs," Kreppel said.
     Clay is excited about what has been accomplished during the
summer, particularly the physical upgrading of dining sites and
facilities used by students.
     While running down a list of improvements, Clay stressed that
some of the projects were already under way prior to ARA's arrival.
In some cases, ARA assisted in the refurbishing efforts.
     According to Clay, the Abbey has been renovated; Rodney Dining
Hall is now "absolutely gorgeous"; the Pencader Dining Hall Upper
Deck is being remodeled and should be completed in late September;
the Perkins Student Center's Center Court has some new offerings;
the Blue and Gold Club received an internal facelift; there is new
equipment in the Faculty Dining Room; and all Dining Services
employees have new uniforms.
     In the area of food, which is the all-important bottom line,
Clay said there have been no wholesale modifications.
     "We agreed to use existing recipes, but we will be phasing in
new recipes and fresh ideas," Clay said.
     So far, concentration has been on the visible-the physical
appearance of food and how it is presented, he said. He plans an
expansion of the current selections and more frequent offerings of
specialty foods.
     Clay explained that ARA has its own established specialty food
programs, similar to those of major food chains.
     Its "Allegro" line offers fresh pasta and fresh sauces with an
Italian theme. The company is installing a machine that makes fresh
pasta which will alleviate the need for Dining Services to use
store-bought, dried pasta.
     "Gretel's Bakery" will offer fresh gourmet cookies and jumbo
muffins.
     "Itza Pizza" offers a product which is similar to the major
pizza chains. These include a whole pie, individual-sized pizza and
calzones.
     "Leghorn's" fresh-cooked, fried chicken will be available in
the Pencader dining area.
     One area of particular attention has been the Blue and Gold
Club.
     Responding to the membership's concern about what will happen
to the alumni/faculty upscale club, Clay explained that an initial
priority was completing the renovations in progress. He and Kreppel
pointed out that painting on the first and second floors and
improvements in carpeting and air conditioning have occurred
recently.
     ARA's involvement with the Blue and Gold Club is currently
focusing on providing support to its manager, Viktor Kraenbring.
     "We are giving him more freedom to innovate," Clay said. "Vic
has done a marvelous job and everyone is happy with the Blue and
Gold Club. Our only interest is to help Viktor find new things he
needs and give him the support to maintain the excellent reputation
of the club."
     Clay added that he hopes the facelift will entice some
inactive club members to return and dine there more often.
     Several rumors were circulated about what the arrival of ARA
on campus would mean.
     "The biggest misconception about ARA," Clay said, "was that
we're this great big outside firm that was going to bring in
pre-prepared, trucked-in food, and fire all the employees and bus
in our own. None of that is true. We depend upon the people who are
here."
     "The contract," Kreppel added, "is written to ensure that the
University will play a major role in having Dining Services meet
the needs of the campus community. That's important. We're working
with ARA to tailor what needs to be done and tell them what we
expect on this campus."
     According to Kreppel, this includes such issues as menu
approval, dining room hours, service styles, services offered,
take-out and delivery and uniforms.
     "It's been my experience," she said, "that going with a
contractor does not mean that you have to have less control."
     Kreppel explained that the University has taken an
organization that has experience and that has made food service a
priority and brought it to a campus where teaching and research are
priorities.
     "When it comes to state-of-the-art, changing trends and
investing resources into dining services," Kreppel said, "an
organization that is geared to these objectives is better able to
respond and provide these types of services. An educational
institution doesn't have its resources focused in that direction."
     Clay said ARA is involved with 400 educational institutions
nationwide, and the University of Delaware is one of the largest
contracts it has ever signed.
     "In terms of number of meals served to resident students,"
Clay added, "the University is the largest client institution in
ARA campus dining."
     To gauge student response to its initiatives, Clay said dining
hall employees will conduct on-site surveys and managers will be
visible and talk to students.
     He plans to form a student dining committee for each dining
hall, to review any complaints and make recommendations on
improvements in service and menus. These committees will work in
conjunction with the Student Dining Committee currently being
developed by the Delaware Undergraduate Student Congress. Clay
added that representatives from existing dining committees, such as
the Resident Student Association, also will be included.
                                        - Ed Okonowicz