The Blue Devils’ dominant showing over the Tar Heels wasn’t the only win on campus Feb. 1 — the highly attended and smoothly executed watch parties across campus were a victory of their own for Duke’s support staff.
The annual indulgence in gameday specials and the thrilling atmosphere at watch parties hosted at The Devil’s Krafthouse and Gothic Grill are community staples on rivalry game day, and this year was no exception. Making the evening possible for nontenters was the meticulous planning overseen by Duke Dining and the execution and cleanup carried out by employees.
“Students responded enthusiastically to the experience … reinforcing the importance of thoughtful planning and cross-departmental collaboration for future gamedays,” wrote Duke Dining Executive Director Robert Coffey in a Wednesday email to The Chronicle.
According to Coffey, Duke Dining coordinated with the two locations “well in advance” to organize additional staff coverage, inventory and furniture needs for gameday. He added that Duke Dining increased staffing by 20% to support the anticipated surge of customers on the long-awaited day.
Extra signage was placed in busy areas around and within the venues to guide foot traffic and enforce alcohol policies.
Krafthouse expanded its seating space both inside the restaurant and outside on the patio, lining up additional benches and chairs to face the TVs and accommodate a large audience.
Between Duke Dining’s internal planning and coordination with watch party venues, “both [Krafthouse and Gothic Grill] were fully prepared for the influx of guests,” Coffey wrote.
He added that Duke Dining collaborated with other services and departments, including the Duke University Police Department, Office of Information Technology and Student Affairs, to ensure an enjoyable but secure environment.
Stevie Howard, a bartender at Gothic Grill, said extra security was preemptively stationed in the restaurant, but there were fortunately no major problems.
“Nobody even broke a glass this time,” he said.
Even without security issues, the event’s increased attendance still brought challenges. Students left behind piles of trash, plates and glasses, requiring a team effort from the staff to clean up.
Gothic Grill employee Jane Cathcart said there was “a hot mess when everybody left,” noting that a lack of trash bins may have contributed to students leaving their waste on tables and floors and suggesting that additional bins could improve efficiency in future cleanups. Still, she maintained that staff overall “had a good time” and that the day is “always fun.”
Krafthouse experienced a similar situation. Krafthouse employee Christina Jones attributed the need for extra staff to increased demand for both food service and the cleanup effort.
“Everybody had a job and knew exactly what they were supposed to do,” she said.
Duke Dining also prepared a number of gameday specials for the Duke fans. The limited-edition menu items were announced on Duke Dining’s Instagram, including unique options at 10 different campus restaurants.
Krafthouse featured “Kruggets and Fries” for $8.99, a dish with breaded chicken bites and a chosen dipping sauce. Gothic Grill offered its tasty “Gothic Pub Burger,” a smashburger with beer cheese, bacon, fried onion straws, barbecue sauce and fries, for $11.99, and “Sweet Thai Chili Crispy Tempura Tofu” for $7.99.
The watch parties were not only enjoyable for the students and fans, but also for the employees.
“The energy was electrifying, the kids were excited — it was great,” Jones said. “… We always have a lot of fun.”
In Gothic Grill, Howard said it almost felt like he was at the game with the students, the day’s excitement reverberating throughout the venue as the Blue Devils put on a show.
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