Dining services seeks Chinese food vendor

In response to continuing student requests that Chinese food be included among campus food options, Jim Wulforst, director of dining services, has entered negotiations to bring an independent Chinese restaurant to the University Room.

Wulforst said that while he has explored several options-including Panda Inn and New China Inn-his primary choice is Neo-China Restaurant, which he said is recognized as the best Chinese restaurant in the area.

Under the plan for the U-Room, an independent Chinese restaurant would manage and staff the facility with their own employees, Wulforst said. The restaurant would most likely offer a menu of eight to 10 entrees plus side items. Entrees would be priced at about $5 for lunch and $10 for dinner. Patrons would most likely be served from a walk-up counter and could either eat in the U-Room or carry out.

Wulforst said that in order to offer a satisfactory product, the University will have to rely on an independent restaurant. "This deal is a result of us not being able to produce what students want," he said. "We can't reproduce authentic Chinese food."

Since the U-Room was closed at the end of last semester, Wulforst said that dining services employees that were working there have been relocated to other facilities on campus. He added that he is anxious to open the new restaurant soon because he is currently paying rent for space in which there is no business.

As part of the deal, Wulforst said that the University would be able to provide almost all of the equipment necessary for the new facility. He added that there is a possibility that once the restaurant is up and running, the University would look into setting up a contract with one of the student-run delivery services that currently operate on campus to deliver the Chinese food as well.

Wulforst said it will cost the restaurant approximately 20 percent of their intake to pay the University for the costs associated with renting the facility and that the remainder will go to the restaurant's owners to pay for food and labor.