Chartwells – The Transcript

New dining service may be introduced

By Kienan O’Doherty, A&E Editor

With Ohio Wesleyan growing bigger by the day, meeting student needs becomes more of a challenge.

Chartwells, which has been Ohio Wesleyan’s main food vendor since 2011, has been getting negative reviews from students and faculty alike, and soon may be out of another client, although nothing is certain yet.

The decision to put OWU’s dining program out for proposals has been in the works for a while and there are a lot of factors behind this decision, said Lauri Strimkovsky, vice president for finance and administration and treasurer.

“We made the decision to put our dining program out for proposals based on negative student feedback about the dining program, as well as the results of a study conducted by campus dining,” Strimkovsky said.

Senior Paul Heithaus, who has witnessed Chartwells change throughout his years at OWU, has seen little improvement, but said that food solutions are different for this generation of incoming students.

“I’ve seen a slow level of improvement in Chartwells during my time here,” Heithaus said. “With that said, I believe it’s time for Ohio Wesleyan to go in a different direction. The profile of the incoming student at OWU is evolving and the food solutions should naturally do the same.”

Junior Austin Strauss said he believes the diversity of food isn’t as big of a factor as it should be.

“To be honest, in the beginning it really wasn’t too great, then they made a few changes and it got a tiny bit better,” Strauss said. “Hamilton-Williams Marketplace (Ham-Will) has always had good food just not much diversity,and they seem to serve almost always the same thing. This year, for the omelettes, they don’t cook them in front of you either, which leads to the decline of student interaction with employees. Smith Hall for me just never seems to have high quality food, but the best part is when they cook food in front of you.

But he added that he thought there were some positives.

“The one thing I will say is Bishop Cafe has some of the best food on campus, with a decent selection, and daily changes in the special of the day,” Strauss said. “But overall, the food here has been very generic, and the food selection is pretty repetitive.”

Multiple administrators from OWU recently visited schools with top 10 dining programs to determine their decisions. Dwayne Todd, vice president for student engagement and success, saw many changes while visiting, particularly at schools he saw were similar to OWU.

“At two of the campuses, which are much like OWU, we observed that their main focus was on quality over quantity in terms of the menu offerings and amount of food on the line,” Todd said. “Dishes are chef-inspired and innovative. They are purchasing much of their ingredients from local suppliers and build the menu around what items are available at the time. A third campus we visited is a large state institution that is consistently ranked as the top program in the country, and while they also emphasize quality, they also pride themselves on variety and convenience.”

Strimkovsky also visited the top 10 schools with Todd and saw more students involved in the dining service as well.

“We saw more made from scratch cooking, more use of locally sourced foods, higher quality of food offered, more students employed by the operation, meal plans that better met the student needs and hours of operation that better met the student needs,” Strimkovsky said.

Chartwells is still allowed to bid during the process, and Steve Ishmael, senior director of dining for Chartwells, said he fully believes in the relationship between the program and school.

“Chartwells is proud of our relationship with Ohio Wesleyan University and very much looks forward to being part of the bid process,” Ishamel said. “The University is making a smart business decision in ensuring they have the right partner for the future of dining at OWU. We welcome the opportunity to tell our story and working to continue our partnership.”

Ishmael said he also believes that the some of the changes made this year have been a success.

“It is a continual process,” Ishmael said. “You can look around all of the facilities to see some of the physical changes we have made this year from painting, pictures and menu boards in Bishop Café, to the upgrades in Smith, plus the big efforts on social media to continue to keep students informed about what is happening in dining services.”

Chartwells has increased their salary every year since 2011, going from $4,956,674 that year to$6,163,317 in 2015.

“If Chartwells isn’t chosen in the bidding process, the school could lose money,” President Rock Jones said.

An in-house dining service could be a possibility to look into, but Strimkovsky said she believes it would be better long-term.

“An in house dining program could be a possibility in the future, but not in the short term,” Strimkovsky said. “Running a food service operation of this size is complicated and would need extensive strategic planning to bring on line. Our plan is put out the Request for Proposals, select a food service provider that is able to provide the quality food service program we want to offer to students. We will then assess, down the road a year or so, whether we want to consider a self operating dining service.”

Get to know Big E

Photo courtesy of Facebook.com — Photo courtesy of facebook.com

Ela Mazumdar, Transcript Reporter

Erik Brewer or “Big E” is a barista at Ohio Wesleyan for Chartwells. But to OWU students, faculty and staff, he is much more than that. He is a mentor, a friend and inspiration.

Brewer has been an essential character in shaping the lives of students for 16 years since he began working at OWU.

“Big E is an OWU icon whose talents go far beyond latte-making,” said senior Mary Suttmeier.

Suttmeier also said Brewer is a special person who always makes her laugh. He factored into her decision to stay at OWU when she considered transferring.

“He is loved as equally as he is lovable. He is an amazing, kind, hilarious person,” Suttmeier said.

Brewer’s relationships at OWU go beyond the students.

Natalie Kalista, one of Brewer’s coworkers, said, “Other people call him Big E, but I call him Big Brother … just because we have worked together over the past 10 or 13 years since I have been here.”

She added that he’s a positive role model who takes joy in interacting with the students.

“When I see him, he just makes my day better and he’s got his little quirks like the rest of us, but he makes me happy and I would be sad without him!”

Brewer began working at OWU when his mother-in-law asked him to help deliver pizzas in Welch Hall.

“I was like, ‘I’m not serving any pizza to any kids. You must be out of your mind.’ But then I changed my mind, gave it a shot and met students who inspired me and made me laugh everyday … I was able to find my family here.”

Brewer said the library café in Beeghly Library was where he remembered connecting with students the most. He would play different kinds of music and the students would gather there. It also gave him the opportunity to meet new freshmen.

“This was a social hour where we really got to know each other and everyone felt comfortable having their own separate conversations while still enjoying the music.”

Brewer is not just a friend, but also a mentor to OWU students.

“Your 20s are about all about you and figuring out who that is while still being confused and yet having a lot of fun and making mistakes which you can use to shape you in the future,” he said.

Eco containers available for all

By: Hannah Wargo, Transcript Correspondent

It’s easy to be green with the new reusable takeout containers in the Hamilton-Williams Food Court. And soon it may be even easier.

The “green container program,” implemented by Chartwells and the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) this fall, allows students to save takeout containers from reaching the landfill by placing a $5 deposit on a reusable container.

“It’s just another step toward a more sustainable campus, and that’s something we can all get behind,” said junior Jessica Choate, chair of the Residential Affairs committee and the author of WCSA’s endorsement of the program.

Chartwells cashiers credit the $5 back to students’ accounts once they return their clean or dirty container to HamWill or Merrick Café, according to WCSA’s sustainability website.

According to WCSA’s Oct.12 minutes report, there is a possibility of pulling disposable takeout containers and permanently replacing them with green containers if the program rises in popularity.

Since its startup, the eco container program has saved about 1,100 containers from being thrown away, said Chartwells’ resident district director Gene Castelli.

“But there is a long way to go,” Castelli said. “This is not a decision Chartwells can make, rather, it will be a decision made through student government.”

He estimated that WCSA will not force the green containers until student participation is at about 75%.

Currently, only about 200 of the 80 dozen containers are be used per day, Castelli said.

The number of paper products Chartwells orders weekly varies, Castelli said, but that number would greatly decrease if all of the green containers were used or if they replaced disposable takeout containers.

“While reducing the landfill is the goal, the current program is the best environmental course we can take when using disposable containers,” Castelli said.

The Food Court’s disposable containers are biodegradable, according to Chartwells’ website, but the green containers reduce landfill waste and can be reused.

The challenge for some students is the responsibility of returning the container, Castelli said.

What students may not realize is that the eco containers can be returned for a refund at any time.

Eco containers have a leakresistant design, are highly durable, microwave safe for reheating and cost nothing, if students return them.

However, disposable containers give the Chartwells team time to clean, dry and return containers for service, Castelli said.

Though it may be a while until disposable takeout containers are replaced with eco containers, “the important fact is for every eco container used, there’s one less container that gets thrown out,” Castelli said.

Trattoria is no more

When students start craving a late night pizza or sub, there won’t be anyone to call. Trattoria, the delivery food service previously operated out of Smith Dining Hall, is no longer catering to nighttime snackers.

Trattoria was open every night of the week until midnight. The service allowed students to use meal points to order food for delivery to their rooms.

Jeff Eden, class of 2011, said, “Trattoria was not renewed for a few reasons, both monetary and with regard to the actual operation.”

Eden began working as a cashier during his freshman year and continued through the next three years of college. Following graduation, he had the opportunity to take over the full operation of Trattoria.

“Trattoria wasn’t exactly the most profitable of the campus eateries and it was a university-led decision wherein money could be saved without making much of an impact on the campus at large,” Eden said. “As far as the operation itself was concerned, many were upset with the inconsistencies of our delivery service. Student interest in delivery participation has dwindled quite a bit over the years and many times we struggled to find willing teams.”

Gene Castelli, resident district manager for Chartwells said, “We were operating 10 separate [dining] locations, and for a campus of our size, that is not the norm. The decision to close a particular service was a long and thoughtful process. As part of this process, the savings generated will be refocused back into the dining program to improve service to students.”

According to Castelli, “One of the first benefits [of closing Trattoria] will be the late-night service at Stuy Café. We will be sourcing a Turbo Chef oven for Stuy. This will allow for students to have hot subs, similar to a Subway sandwich.”

Sophomore Hope Walls said, “I wasn’t happy when I heard Trattoria wasn’t going to be on campus this semester. It was always nice to be able to have food delivered right to your door and get to use your food points.”

“I am confident there will be continued discussion on this subject in the following weeks and look forward to interaction with students to ensure the program reflects what the students want and need in the best service model possible,” Castelli said.

No more running out of food points

Many Ohio Wesleyan students struggle to budget their meal points throughout the semester. Can a new meal plan fix this problem?

“The new meal plans are designed to be more in line with the meal plans most universities offer,” said Gene Castelli, resident district manager for Chartwells. “They are considered a ‘traditional’ plan in that they offer a set number of meals per week as well as some flex dollars. All plans will have the off campus points as well. The difference is the new plans offer the student the confidence that they will never run out of meal at the end of the semester.”

The new plan will be available to upperclassmen who choose to participate and mandatory for this fall’s incoming freshmen.

According to Castelli, the final rate for the new meal plan has not been set. However, pricing should remain consistent with existing meal plan rates.

Leah Miza is Smith Dining Hall. Photo courtesy of Alex Gross.

As for individual food item cost, Castelli said they “work with the administration to keep pricing based on consumer price index increases and other market factors. The new plans will not have any effect on pricing going forward as they were designed to work within the pricing schedule we currently use.”

Junior Jerry Leherisson, Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs president, believes the new meal plan is “a great way to ensure that students are able to utilize the money they paid at the beginning of the semester.” Leherisson did mention that he will choose to use the current meal plan system for the fall semester.

According to Castelli, during their first year, “Freshmen are negotiating their new world of classes, self-directed studying as well as the social environment our university has. In the past they also needed to worry about budgeting their points so they last the entire semester. This will help them in that they will not run out of meals.”

Junior Mira Singhal said the new meal is “a great idea. Hopefully it will help students who normally run out meal points allocate their swipes more efficiently.”