Archived Edition: May 09, 2007 | Back to Current	Sep 10, 2010

Paresky’s popularity leaves empty seats at other dining halls
Lina Khan - Executive Editor



The lines of students trailing out past Whitman’s each night speak for the surging popularity of Paresky’s dining facilities, which draw an average of 800 people each night. Though the novelty of Whitman’s, the ’82 Grill and the new Snack Bar explains the soaring numbers, Dining Services is discovering that Paresky’s shine will take longer to dull than expected, as meal counts at dining halls continue to drop.

Before the student center opened, Dining Services looked at the best case scenarios for Whitman’s and the ’82 Grill and evaluated their impact on dining halls. According to Chris Abayasinghe, assistant director of student dining, expectations took into account a significant drop in dining hall counts for the first few weeks after Paresky’s opening, but predicted that the numbers would rise again after Spring Break.

Dining hall traffic, however, has continued to decline since Spring Break. Mission has experienced the most drastic drop, with a 9.5 percent decrease in dinner counts since 2006. Comparatively, counts have decreased by 5.7 percent at Dodd, 4.3 percent at Driscoll and 6.4 percent at Greylock. Lunch traffic has been less severely affected, with dining hall decreases lingering around 2 to 3 percent. Grab-n-Go, nevertheless, has seen an 8 percent fall in patrons since Paresky opened.

Abayasinghe attributed the continuing drop at dining halls primarily to Paresky’s central location. “Paresky is definitely the hotspot because of its locality,” he said. “It makes sense for students to stop by in between classes to get something to eat, and that’s something that won’t change.”

Nancy Byrant, prep and service attendant at Mission, acknowledged the impact of fewer students. “It’s kind of frustrating. We find that there’s less to do because of it,” she said. “They don’t want to come down the hill, especially for lunch, and I don’t blame them.”

Despite the significant decline in dining halls’ popularity, Bob Volpi, director of Dining Services, remains optimistic and asserted that Dining Services will keep working to improve counts outside of Paresky. “It will take some time for the newness of the great facility to wear off,” he said. “We are not giving up.”

Over the past months, Dining Services has been working on programs to encourage students to return to dining halls, primarily through catering to specific groups. Efforts have included more ethnic themed nights and charity dinners, such as Make a Wish spaghetti meals at Greylock and the Darfur awareness dinner at Mission.

“We want to focus on building brand loyalty,” Abayasinghe said, adding that the key to promoting dining halls was getting students to identify them as their own.

Offering more specialized meals has proved to be effective thus far. When Dodd served sushi a few weeks ago, counts jumped to 270, a significant rise from its daily average of 91. “We’ve found that students are very responsive to menu changes – you have to build upon quality and variety,” Abayasinghe said. “Ethnic dishes have to be as authentic as possible, with both the right cooking and seasoning.”

In conjunction with new menus, Dining Services is looking to more media outlets to publicize its events and has employed students to help attract their peers’ attention. Abayasinghe cited Facebook as an example of an effective advertising device. “We want to find a medium that reaches students,” he said.

Dining Services is currently conducting an online survey to gauge how satisfied students are with specific dining halls and what factors they consider while choosing where to eat. “Once we get the survey results back, we will have a better understanding of how to proceed with any changes,” Volpi said. Compiled results should be ready next week and will be reviewed for the fall semester.

Dining Services does not plan to undergo any drastic changes, though adjustments in purchasing supplies will be made accordingly. Volpi stressed that Dining Services would discuss any future staffing changes with the staff before implementing them. “It’s a very difficult area, but one we will carefully approach,” he said.

Overall revenues of Dining Services have risen since Paresky’s opening, but Abayasinghe said it was too early to tell whether the building will have a lasting impact. He added that Dining Services is very conscious of its pricing and has no intention of competing with Spring St. businesses. Members of the staff met with owners of Spring St. eateries earlier in the year to emphasize the College’s congenial intent.