Chartwells brings new tastes to Buff State

Returning students will experience new sights and new tastes as Chartwells replaces Sodexo as Buffalo State's food service provider.

Changes have already begun in the college's retail dining area. Jazzman's has been replaced with Spot Coffee, although Freshens remains.

The change to Spot Coffee was part of Chartwells' efforts to focus on local brands, said Tim Ecklund, associate vice president for the Campus Life Office.

"Spot was one of the first brands that Chartwells had established," Ecklund said.

The menu choices are similar to those offered at Spot Coffee's full locations.

More comfortable furniture will be added to the upper dining area to add to the feeling of a cafe, Ecklund said.

Strutters, Selona Grill, Pomadoro's and Sub Connection will all be replaced with similar Chartwells-owned brands, although there are plans to eventually bring a Subway to campus, Ecklund said.

There were originally plans to bring Jim's Steakout to campus, but the company was not interested in working with the college, Ecklund said.

Taco Bell will be replaced with a Salsarita's Fresh Cantina, a chain that serves fresh Mexican food.

Jump Asian Express, which was never as successful as the college had hoped, will be replaced with a restaurant that will serve ethnic foods from various cultures on a rotating basis, Ecklund said.

The Smart Market will be moved to a mobile station located near Spot Coffee, while salads will be sold out of the original Smart Market location.

Prices will remain in line with Sodexo's, but there may be some variation based on the different items sold. For example, pizza slices are now more expensive, but they are also larger than the slices offered by Sodexo.

"I can't say whether prices will be exactly the same because they're different products," Ecklund said.

James Huggins, vice president of USG and member of the food search committee, said the changes have been positive so far.

"The food is a little better," he said, although he expressed concern about some of the price differences.

"There's going to be a lot of good changes going on," he said.

The resident dining area will see its fair share of changes as well. Meals will no longer be served on individual plates. They will be self-serve instead. There will also be more of a focus on enticing presentation at the international station, Ecklund said.

Meal plan prices will remain the same for the first academic year, according to the college's contract with Chartwells.

"Certainly we thought that would be enticing to the school," said Robert Mottola, district manager for Chartwells.

After the first year, price increases will likely be based on the consumer price index, he said.

Sodexo employees who want to continue to work at Buffalo State will have to go through Chartwells' screening process, Mottola said, and a large portion of them will probably be retained.

"We absolutely want those folks here because they know the business and they know the processes," Mottola said.

Jacob Tierney can be reached by email at tierney.record@live.com.