Purdue Memorial Union at Purdue University West Lafayette, Ind.
Efficiency and unique design are essential components at this union to continually entice customers. Foodservice equipment is a critical part of these retail operations' new streetscape design that captures customers' interest as they look for dining options that meet their fickle and sophisticated food and service needs.
By Donna Boss, Contributing Editor -- Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, 12/15/2008 12:00:00 AM
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| Urban Market features organic and sustainable menu items, as well as Loops, a cereal concept. |
To meet the needs of its more than 39,000 students, Purdue University offers myriad dining options. Capturing customers' interest at the bustling Purdue Memorial Union requires ingenuity to select both the most appropriate and right number of concepts as well as the product mix.
The Purdue Union Commons' response is a $7.1 million semi-underground urban streetscape design that replaces a 25-year-old cafeteria. Partially completed in October 2007 and completely finished in January 2008, the new and renovated part of the union includes international fast-casual restaurants occupying 60,000-square-feet. Funding for the project came from the division of housing and foodservice.
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| Part of Urban Market, Loops displays cereals on a curved counter that sits above the seating counter that resembles a diner. |
“We have a beautiful venue and we selected concepts that aren't found on or around campus,” says Gary Goldberg, dining services director, who oversees 18 retail venues and catering in the union.
“We had to consider if these restaurants were going to cannibalize sales from one another,” he says. “But if the overall traffic is growing and doing well, that's OK.”
Despite opening in January 2008, the anticipated customer traffic wasn't realized until this fall. “Planning took longer than we thought and we wanted to open earlier than was realistic,” Goldberg says. “We didn't get our traffic back until this school year. Now, we've reached the pinnacle of business we've ever done. Some 14,000 people walk into our building and we capture 42 percent of that. It's not rocket-science, but if customers like what you have, you market yourself right and you are open the right hours, you can be successful.”
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| Seating at Urban Market offers many selections for students who wish to eat quickly and those who want to relax and study. |
The streetscape design itself also brings a unique feature to the campus's foodservice offerings. In contrast to the newly renovated residence halls, which introduce a marketplace-style approach to dining, each area in the streetscape is self-contained.
“We created separate venues that are self-contained restaurants, each with their own entrances,” says Bob Mesher, principal, Mesher Shing & Associates. “The existing corridors intersected, forming an 'L' with the old servery tucked into the inside of the 'L' and seating on the outside of each leg of the 'L.' The conditions did not give us enough street frontage for all the venues to have their own entrances. The solution was to create a new diagonal street, connecting one leg to the other leg of the 'L.' This also created more energy and interesting vistas as one travels along 'Main Street.'”
The porcelain floor of Main Street, which resembles slate, produces a unifying element for the streetscape. Custom lighting, blade signs for each restaurant and tiled columns contribute to the unification, as well. In keeping with the main street, each restaurant is branded and has its own front door, signage, color scheme and inside seating.
“The lighting, materials and graphics on Main Street were kept intentionally neutral so the individual storefronts with their branded designs would stand out,” Mesher says.
The semi-buried lower-level location presented several challenges to create visual openness. “The ceilings were low, so in order to achieve the illusion of spaciousness we gutted the suspended ceiling and left it open,” Mesher says. “The electrical mechanical equipment was painted a dark hue to make it go away and the lighting was suspended, creating an artificial ceiling plane.”
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| Staff prepare Thai and Southeast Asian cuisine at Lemongrass. Gas-fired woks support production. Lemongrass' décor features bamboo floors, painted walls, recessed back-lit acrylic panels and earthy woods and iron wood in the table bases, as well as steel tabletops. |
Each restaurant is self-contained to allow as much production on-site as possible. The restaurants all back up to a common 10,000-square-foot kitchen that provides storage and production support.
Another key consideration with the design was routing pedestrian circulation so customers can move inside and through the rather compressed venues and don't have to double-back in the space. “Through-put was very important,” Mesher says. “Queuing and the location of each front door had to be considered so customers could line up outside onto Main Street during the busy lunch period.”
At Flatbreads, customers can order gourmet sandwiches featuring hot artisan breads that staff bake in a gas-fired open-hearth oven. Salads and signature soups also appear on the menu. Soups in other locations share common recipes. Sandwich prep tables and open-air coolers assist in production here, as well as high-powered microwave/convection ovens. These are particularly useful for high-speed production and versatility, which helps alleviate too much waiting time at this unit.
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| Urban Market's fresh offerings entice customers to try new foods, as well as the tried-and-true. |
In Urban Market, staff can service the seven reach-in coolers and freezer from behind, which eliminates cross-traffic in the market. The market also contains a hot display case, an open-air refrigerated unit and an ambient-temperature case.
A cereal bar concept called Loops also sits within Urban Market.
At Lemongrass, staff prepare Thai and Southeast Asian cuisine in gas-fired woks, a griddle, fryers, and induction woks at one cooking counter. A separate Pho soup and topping bar is also popular here.
The commercially branded concept, La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill, on the other hand, offers “south of the border” cuisine featuring fresh ingredients. Selections from the salsa bar accompany entrées and sides. Staff use a plancha, cold prep make-up table, a charbroiler, fryers and a flat-top grill to prepare overstuffed grilled burritos and other south-of-the-border menu items.
Customers looking for pizza, pasta, garlic breadsticks and salads frequent Villa Fresh Italian Kitchen, also a commercial concept. Equipment at the Villa includes a charbroiler, fryers, deck pizza ovens, a steamer and floor mixer.
A new take on the branded Freshens beverage concept, Zia Juice features freshly squeezed juices, a variety of smoothies and healthy snacks.
“The challenge for us is more about through-put because the bulk of our business is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. We can handle breakfast and dinner, but there's a lot more traffic at lunch,” Goldberg says.
In Flatbreads, for example, the original ordering system was tweaked to accommodate customers more quickly. “Customers don't order first like they do in a typical fast-casual concept. We believe that with the right digital menu boards and staff who engage people and help them queue correctly, we're moving the line along quickly. It is a work in progress.”
Another way Goldberg and the staff maintain efficiency and also keep the quality of the food high is to have enough space for ingredients in each restaurant. “Staff have each day's mise en place right in front of them so they can prepare all the menu items they need at the restaurants,” Goldberg says. “The only thing we don't do at the units is soup.”
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| A gas-fired hearth oven bakes artisan breads at Flatbreads. Cozy seating contributes to the warm atmosphere. |
Experienced, full-time staff man key positions. These individuals mentor students. The chefs support the culinary production and visit restaurants frequently to be sure the production systems are being followed correctly. “Each restaurant has a Rolodex or laminated sheet with the assembly directions, as well as a picture, for each menu item. These are prepared by Executive Chef Bruce Haumesser,” Goldberg says.
The master plan for these restaurants features built-in flexibility so concepts can be changed as needed. “We designed the restaurants to be self-sufficient,” Goldberg says. “If they don't work, we need an exit strategy. We must treat each brand as if it were a franchise. We must continually refresh concepts so they don't get tired.”
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| Décor at Lemongrass transports customers to a restaurant they might find in Southeast Asia. |
Each restaurant in the renovated union has its own seating area. In addition a common seating area includes comfortable seats, television screens and music. For students looking for late-night dining and interaction, they can frequent a seating area near another union concept not included in this renovation, Pappy's Sweet Shop diner.
In the months and years to come, efficiency of the equipment and operations will always be a priority for Goldberg and the staff. But that is simply the underlying foundation that must support creative menus, targeted marketing and attentive customer service.
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