The UTD Mercury

Diners at the Comet Café may have noticed some changes in the menu lately.

Aramark, UTD's longtime food service vendor, lost its bid to competitor Chartwells. According to sources within the university the reasons for the change range from strictly financial to professional and personal.

Pete Bond, assistant vice president for procurement management at UTD, said various committees, student focus groups, vendor presentations from the three bidders - Aramark, Chartwells and Sedexo - site visits to other universities such as Louisiana State University and Texas State University - formerly Southwest Texas State - and reference checks were the determining factors.

Bond said Chartwells' offer was the most attractive of all the vendors, and after with Calvin Jamison, vice president for business affairs at UTD, their offer was accepted.

However, Greg Sparkman, the former student union facility supervisor, offered other possible explanations for the switch.

"Aramark's management was inefficient and difficult to work with," Sparkman said. "We felt like throwing a party when we heard they'd got the axe."

Sparkman leveled a litany of complaints at Aramark. He cited Aramark's constant refusal to clean up garbage inside the Comet Café, keep the loading docks clean of trash and instances of poor relations with student union staff as other reasons Aramark may have lost the bid.

Casey Teng, Aramark's director of dining services declined to comment regarding Aramark's loss of the contract.

The transition between Aramark and Chartwells should be completed within a couple of years, with many of the dining concepts in place by the end of the fall semester 2009, according to Keith Foreman, director of dining services.

Of the current franchises available at the Comet Café, only Chick-Fil-A will remain. Foreman said Pizza Hut has agreed to remain onsite during the transition, but will eventually be replaced by Chartwells' own pizza concept, Mama Leone's.

Subway will also be included among the franchises available to students at the Comet Café. Bond said student desire for a Subway outlet at UTD played a part in the administration's decision to go with Chartwells.

During the transition, prior to Subway's arrival, the sandwich shop in the Café will operate in the same way it did under Aramark, but under the brand "SubConnection."

Part of Chartwells' contract includes food service at the new dining hall, Bond said. The particulars of a meal plan for freshmen residents of the new residence hall are still being discussed with Chartwells. Bond said freshmen living at the residence hall would be UTD's first meal plan and board recipients. A voluntary meal plan will be available to for other students as well.

Foreman said discussions are ongoing between UTD and Chartwells as to what, if any, role Chartwells will have in The Pub. Foreman said Chartwells has made itself available to UTD in an advisory capacity, but no formal plans to take over management of the UTD owned and operated restaurant have been made at this time.

Regarding hourly employees at UTD formerly employed by Aramark, Bond said Chartwells had the option to hire them on a provisional basis. Foreman said Chartwells decided to retain Aramark's former hourly employees for the time being.

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