Grille undergoes temporary cut in hours

The administration has cut hours at the Grille to 11:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Mondays and will close the restaurant entirely on Sundays.

However, Director of Dining Services Matthew Biette revealed these changes to be only temporary. The Grille will soon reopen on Sunday and revert to its previous schedule, though the exact date for this has yet to be announced.

The budget and staff cuts at the College brought on by the financial crisis have considerably affected Dining Services, causing a $50,000 cut in their yearly budget as well as a 25 percent cut in staff. The original cut in hours was a continuation of recent actions to help Dining Services deal with these constraints.

“The Grille is open when the volume of business is not there to support the operation because the Grille is housed at the student center,” Vice President for Finance and Treasurer Patrick Norton wrote in an e-mail.

However, due to demand from students, longer opening hours at the Grille will be restored “as soon as possible,” according to Biette. The decision will be put into effect sometime after the Redfield Dining Room in Proctor, a paid lunch option for faculty and staff, resumes operations next Monday, Sept. 13.

While the Grille hours issue seems to be resolved, the Grille delivery service seems to be definitely suspended, which has deeply disappointed many students. Not only was this a popular option in the winter or for students busy studying, but it was an essential part of fundraising by sports teams, the MALT program, and other clubs.

“I’m really going to miss ordering the Grille at night after the dining halls are closed,” said Amy Francisco ’12.

Norton wrote in an e-mail, “The issue is the amount of labor we have to prepare the food and get it ready to be delivered and at the same time meet the needs of the customers in the Grille.”

Management personnel within Dining Services have decreased, accounting for the inability to continue Grille delivery. Supervisor oversight is required for student-run delivery operations, as students usually only do delivery for a few weeks and often lack experience.

Norton said that the suspension of the delivery program is “not a final decision and is still under review.”

Biette discussed how filling current management openings will increase Dining Services’ ability to provide better food and service to the College community. He noted that frequent changes in students’ dining experiences occur because of the process required to fill these positions, as well as constant small-scale budget changes.

“It’s a living, breathing decision tree,” Biette said.

Making the Grille a profitable business is a continuing process for those involved in Dining Services administration.

“We have been [changing our] menu and the way we provide service,” said Norton. “This will continue as we look for a model that meets the needs of the campus and at the same time run at a minimum a break-even operation.”