Nosh, an eclectic local eatery located on Erwin Road, will now join the ever-growing selection of vendors for the Merchants on Points program.
Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee met Monday night to address the idea of expanding the Merchants on Points delivery system. Student committee members voted unanimously to add Nosh to the program.
Nosh is a locally owned eatery and a sister restaurant to the an older Triangle vendor, Piper’s In the Park. Nosh will be open for delivery from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and will charge a $1.50 delivery fee with a minimum purchase of $10.
Nosh was approached about joining the MOP program earlier this year but pulled out because they did not feel ready to meet the influx of demand from the Duke community, Nosh Manager Kevin Dillan said. The restaurant has since added Dillan as a new manager who will specifically handle the Duke delivery system and hired three new delivery agents who are currently undergoing training.
Nosh offers a variety of selections for both vegetarians and meat-lovers. Dillan said that 99 percent of Nosh’s food options are made from scratch with fresh local ingredients. The vendor also offers an array of desserts and will deliver smoothies, lattes and milkshakes.
Although the student panel agreed that the bistro offered flavorful options, it was mainly concerned with the availability of phone lines and the issue of delivery time.
Dillan said that Nosh is extremely busy on weekends and the restaurant cannot handle Duke student delivery service on weekends at this time. Although DUSDAC members expressed interest in seeing Nosh deliver breakfast on Saturdays, members were not derailed by the restaurant’s inability to accommodate this request.
George’s Diner, a family-owned 24/7 Greek-themed diner, could be a solution to the paucity of late-night munchies on campus, DUSDAC members said.
The diner is not affiliated with the recently closed George’s Garage. It offers breakfast 24 hours a day and calls itself a “northern diner” that offers homefries instead of hash browns.
The restaurant offers “a wide range of selection and something new,” said DUSDAC Co-chair Jason Taylor, a senior.
Although the panel members said that the diner would fill a niche in the MOP program with its diverse menu and delivery hours, they were concerned that the three-and-a-half month old restaurant is too inexperienced to handle the increased demand from Duke.
Many members said that the diner has not yet thought through the decision to join MOP and needs time to sort things out before taking on the responsibility. Other members strongly argued that one late-night meal with sub-par delivery service would still be better than none.
The panel decided in an 8-2 decision to not immediately take on the diner. But after much deliberation, and an agreement to visit the diner at 4 a.m. to test their late-night efficiency, the panel agreed unanimously to add George’s Diner after Fall Break if the test goes well and if the restaurant agrees to add phone lines.
“I don’t think it will be as popular as the some of the Merchant’s selections such as Cinelli’s or Dragon Gate, but it will fill a void in the Merchant’s dining program because of the 24-hour operation,” said sophomore Leila Kutler, a DUSDAC member.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.