Breyers out, Edy's in!

Breyers has followed the Oak Room to the dustbin of campus eateries, but unlike the Oak Room it has a ready replacement: Edy's ice cream.

The impetus for the change was student requests for more variety, including sorbets and non-fat selections. Junior Sean Biederman, merchant evaluation analyst for the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee, a Duke Student Government organization, said economic problems added to the decision.

"Sales were low, I guess, reflecting low sentiment," he said. "So ARAMARK [Corp.] approached DUSDAC to bring in possible alternatives that might be of more delight to students."

Officials staged a taste test between Freshans and Edy's in June in which participants were asked to choose their favorite. Edy's won by a margin of two-thirds to one-third, said David Randolph, resident district manager of dining services for ARAMARK.

Biederman said there will be an increase in advertisements to announce the impending change. "There is going to be an increase in marketing, which happens anytime you have a new product. We'll probably have a grand opening with T-shirts and such."

Although it is slightly unconventional to do a taste test to survey student preferences, Biederman said it was an appropriate way to make the decision. "We were pretty pleased. Perhaps we could have taken it to a committee vote, but [with] it being summer, we decided it would be better to [get] community feedback," he said.

Subway approved the switch and will now share its space between the Great Hall and The Loop with Edy's, as it did with Breyers.