The Marketplace is implementing strict measures to improve its dining environment.
At their meeting Monday night, Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee members proposed plans to improve the cleanliness of Marketplace.
“At night, the Marketplace looks like a hurricane came through,” said DUSDAC co-Chair Jason Taylor, a senior.
He added that the dining tables and yogurt bar are particularly messy toward the end of the day.
Marketplace officials’ first attempt to improve cleanliness was to put signs on each table, encouraging students to clean up after themselves more thoroughly. This attempt, however, produced only a slight improvement in cleanliness, said DUSDAC member Anant Jha, a freshman.
Now, Marketplace staff have started to patrol the dining areas and are asking students to clean their tables before leaving, which has significantly increased neatness in the dining hall, Jha said.
Marketplace staff also began to monitor students to prevent them from taking excess amounts of food or using Tupperware containers to take food away from the dining hall, Jha said.
Jha added that the Marketplace is also making changes to improve its eating environment. Officials are discussing measures such as adding ice cream scoopers and altering methods of cooking to reduce the time spent waiting in line for ice cream and pasta, respectively. The strawberry yogurt at breakfast will also be routinely alternated with other fruit yogurts, such as blueberry and peach.
DUSDAC officials said staff have also made an effort to ensure utensils do not run out during meal time by cleaning and replacing silverware every 15 minutes.
Jha added that student comment cards on dining hall tables have contributed positively toward the Marketplace’s improvement efforts.
“The staff are getting more and more suggestions every day,” he said.
In other business:
DUSDAC members discussed reducing the price of margaritas at Armadillo Grill.
The current price of $5.75 is a result of employees making the sour margarita mix on a daily basis, said DUSDAC member Whitney Woodhall, a senior.
DUSDAC members proposed using a less expensive mix or producing larger quantities at a time to lower the price.
Peter Turner, the franchise owner of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins on Erwin Road, spoke in front of DUSDAC members to promote adding Dunkin’ Donuts to the Merchants on Points program.
Members noted the benefits of adding Dunkin’ Donuts, which included the availability for 24-hour delivery, the option for a good breakfast on weekends and a menu with both healthy and sweet items.
Although members expressed interest in the proposal, the group said it would like to further assess students’ needs before committing to a partnership.
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