Food Factory must evolve

The Food Factory, a Cary, N.C. restaurant recently relocated to Central Campus, may shut down in the future due to poor business. This is not the first time a restaurant on Central has faced financial difficulties. Last year, the Food Factory’s predecessor, the Devil’s Bistro, closed due to unprofitability.

The Food Factory made smart moves by joining the Merchants on Points program and maintaining its late night hours. But, as is, the restaurant is not doing everything it can to ensure success. Its menu, consisting mostly of sandwiches and wraps, caters to a lunch crowd. This presents a demographic problem since the restaurant, as of October, is only open during dinner hours. Also troublesome is the relatively slow service and lack of vegan options. However, the biggest obstacle to the Food Factory’s success remains unchangeable: its location.

Dining on Central is something that Duke must reckon with. The closing of the Devil’s Bistro and the impending failure of the Food Factory prove that a radically new model is necessary. History might suggest that there is little demand for a Central restaurant, but we disagree. We believe that some restaurant concepts could be successful on Central. Especially in light of the upcoming house model, we hope Central residents will desire an open and communal space to both eat and socialize. Indeed, such a dining space is crucial to fostering house spirit on Central.

We suggest two possible dining models for the Food Factory to adopt. First, we propose a contracted dining venue akin to the Great Hall. Such a venue would offer comprehensive, quick and diverse eating options for Central residents. This dining hall model would partially correct the severe inequalities between Central and West dining. The drawback is that the plan is ambitious and expensive. The University would have to pick up the slack, possibly resulting in a larger dining deficit and student dining fee. However, Central would gain a first-rate eating venue that would facilitate more communal dining in the house model.

Our second suggestion is a niche restaurant that will draw business despite its less than desirable location. The success of Grace’s Café, the only restaurant on Central besides the Food Factory, can be largely attributed to its narrow business model. Its unique and specialized menu attracts customers from East, West and Central. One idea for a niche venue could be a bar or coffeehouse. More elaborate than the East Campus Coffeehouse, this venue would serve drinks and food, stay open late into the night and offer social programming from concerts to game watching parties. The success of the bar at Armadillo Grill suggests that a late-night alcohol-serving restaurant could also thrive on Central.

These two ideas are only a starting point. We hope the Food Factory can endure until the inauguration of the house model. At that point, we encourage the restaurant, in conjunction with the administration, to aggressively conduct surveys and focus groups to better understand the needs of Central residents, especially in light of the house model. If possible, we would like to see the Food Factory survive even as it is transformed. Central residents deserve both great food and great community, and their needs are still not being met.