The cafeteria concept is disappearing from the Dickinson State University (DSU) campus; it is evolving into “The Perch”. Each stage in this evolutionary process will implement new features that students are sure to enjoy.
Sodexo general manager Aaron Zummer called it the cafeteria, stopped and corrected himself. “We do not call it a cafeteria or a dining hall. It is ‘The Perch.’” There are exciting reasons behind the differentiation. The new concept for The Perch is that food is now its secondary purpose. Its name provides a clue to its primary purpose; The Perch is the perfect name for the place where Blue Hawks will hang out. The Perch is to be a place for students to connect, relax, socialize, engage, network and build a strong college community. Many new changes are involved in creating this fresh concept.
The first big change is that there are going to be significant improvements to the space. “You’ll see some renovations right away over the summer. Then we’ll do more over each break,” said Zummer. “The remodel is very modern: new lighting, some drop lights, soft-seating furniture, a serpentine couch, some ottomans, a high top bar with charging stations. And we are going to amp up the Wi-Fi and the cellphone reception down here, too.”
But the improvements don’t stop there. One corner will become a rotating entertainment zone. The Perch will rotate games on a regular basis to give students something new and fun to do. There might be a pool table there, then table tennis, foosball, karaoke or maybe lawn bowling or life-size chess.
Students will also be happy to learn that the current food service office space in The Perch is slated to be converted into a computer lab, but it won’t be the same kind of lab found throughout the rest of campus. The Perch’s computer lab will be for gaming and watching movies, and it will be equipped with gaming pc’s and a PlayStation or Xbox.
Another big change is that The Perch will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and Sodexo is not scaling down the weekend menu; weekends will offer the same food as during the week with many options to choose from. Some of these options include a grill station where food will be made to order, an allergen-free zone that will be 100 percent free of the top eight food allergens, hot dishes—including pasta and Asian cuisine—cooked in front of the customer and a comfort food station with down-home cooking like casseroles. At The Perch, those watching what they eat will be happy to find foods low in sodium, calories, etc. prepared under the new Mindful section. Of course, the standard fair will also still be available such as pizza and sandwiches.
In deciding on what to offer throughout the night, Zummer and his team thought about what students might want when they’ve been working on homework all night and want to grab something. Thus, the overnight station will offer waffles, a roller grill with hot dogs, nachos, an omelet station, popcorn, cereal and milk, sandwiches and salad.
All these options are great, but will the food taste good? “There’s going to be some significant change as we move into the new semester,” Zummer said. “We will be implementing all sorts of new programs on our side of the fence that will help us improve the food.” So, no matter what food people prefer or what dietary restrictions they might have, everyone will find something delicious at The Perch.
With all the changes that will be happening over the course of the semester, the meal plans are changing to match. Because DSU and Sodexo want to make sure every student gets plenty of good food, all students living on campus will be required to have an unlimited 24/7 meal plan, which allows them to eat at The Perch as many times as they want to, any day of the week, at any time of the day or night. The rest of the plans are voluntary, and anyone is welcome to purchase them. For those who want a more limited option, 24/5, 24/4 and 24/3 plans are available. People can also purchase day passes for one day, three days or four days.
For people needing something fast and easy, The Perch has that covered, too. The new Simply-to-Go feature will be handily located at the door. It will be similar to a convenience store counter, but with more options. Simply-to-Go will be where people can grab a cup of coffee, a soda, a bottled beverage, premade sandwiches, salads, snack cups, etc. There will also be limited grill options sold a la carte to go like chicken sandwiches, chicken strips, french fries and burgers. Customers simply order at the counter at the door, the order is called back to the grill, they make it and bring it out.
The Perch will not be just for the campus community, either. “One of Sodexo’s drives is to connect with Dickinson as a community at large,” Zummer said. “The Perch is going to offer things that the community can’t get anywhere else in town. They won’t find some of the options we have, especially not for the price. If they were to come in and grab lunch for $10 at the door at an all-you-care-to-eat facility with 10 different stations in a day, they’re not going to find that, especially not for that price, anywhere in town.”
Connecting with people is of paramount importance to Zummer and his Sodexo team. “One of our key drives is not only getting students to engage with each other but with us,” said Zummer. “The more they network and communicate with us, the more we’re able to serve them. If there’s a student need and I can meet that need, I’m going to.” To help facilitate this communication, Zummer is putting comment cards at the door, and he encourages everyone to fill them out with negative or positive comments. “I like the negative ones better. That means I can change something, and change is always good,” said Zummer. As an incentive, Zummer will reward particularly insightful comments, as long as the commenter provides his or her contact information. The lucky person will be treated to a meal personally prepared by Zummer and served fine-dining style, with nice linens and their drinks filled for them, with the goal being to make the person feel special.
It will be easy for everyone to find out what’s on the menu for the day. In addition to the menu being posted throughout the Student Center on menu boards and digital screens, anyone can have the menu in their pocket with the Bite by Sodexo mobile app. It will link them in to any Sodexo they’re at, anywhere they go. It will automatically synchronize with the nearest Sodexo account and update on the fly so it’s always accurate. It also provides nutritional information and ways to interact by rating recipes and making comments and suggestions.
The Perch is also online at dickinson.sodexomyway.com. This is a great resource, not just for the menu, but also for ordering. Here people will find the different catering options available, numerous gift packages in the online store, and boxed lunches to go.
When asked what excites him the most about The Perch, Zummer replied without hesitation, “Growth. I think that it’s going to be a big step and could really help bring more people to campus. Whether it be a larger student body and helps enrollment or even brings people from the community and trying to really get that local connection. I think an increase in the number of people we see coming through the door every day is what I’m most looking forward to because serving the customer is not only our sole focus and our goal, but it’s also the reason we’re in this industry. We love serving the people and I like seeing the smiles on their faces when they come in and see the new design, when they get excited to see what new game is over in the corner, or they come running in and say, ‘Oh, look at that roast today! That looks awesome! I can’t wait to get a piece of that!’”
By: Salena Loveland, student intern
