Cafeteria openings to end 5-month drought
by Connie Yu, Managing Editor

   From fine dining in a country club to mass dining in the military; from working for a Marriott hotel to catering for popular country singers, such as Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, each of the college’s new campus cafeteria managers brings something exciting to campus dining, Kathy Woodruff, DFW director at Educational Catering, Inc., said.
   “I feel like we really got a great team here,” she said.
   The catering company won a contract for the college district’s cafeteria and catering services a few weeks ago and is gearing up for its debut on campus next week.
    In addition to the management team, Woodruff said she plans to employ about 10 staff per campus-—at least four of them are full-time positions.
    Woodruff said the managers will also be working full-time on campus.
   “They will be there for the support not only of their staff,” she said, “but also of the faculty, staff and students.”
    After further consideration, the company decided to open all campus cafeterias on the scheduled dates, but delayed its plan to have a grand-opening celebration when each cafeteria opens. Woodruff said company officials will plan for a district-wide event to celebrate the grand openings, but no timetable is available yet.
   At the company’s request, an interior design company assessed each campus cafeteria facility early this week to change the decor, Woodruff said.
   “It’s a quick little facelift,” she said. “We want it to be a little homey and a little cheerful. We want people to feel welcome.”
   The NE Campus cafeteria will undergo a major renovation next year while SE Campus officials have already repainted its facility and added a new drop ceiling with lighting.
   In the meantime, each campus cafeteria will kick off its reopening with a Halloween theme. Woodruff said she plans to decorate the cafeterias with a special theme each month.
   The new cafeteria services will feature a main entrée station, an Italian station with homemade pizza and pastas and a deli and salad station. An additional potato bar and a soup bar will also be available on South and NE campuses.
  An entrée combo, with drink included, will cost about $5; a sandwich combo will cost about $4; and the cost of a salad will go from $2.50 to $3.
   Woodruff said the company differs from the traditional steam-table cafeteria culture in its services and food presentations.
Items such as baked ham or roast beef will be hand carved upon order, and Woodruff said customers can build a sandwich to their preference. Initially, only pre-made sandwiches will be available, but Woodruff said customers can request special sandwiches on site.
   “I think it’s what a sandwich should be,” she said. “You should be able to go in and tell them what you want on a sandwich.”
    The company’s philosophy has already made a positive impression with some of its first customers after it jump-started the catering business on campus last week.
    At the vice chancellor of financial services’ office, executive secretary Dawn Wilbert said she recommends the company for its detail-oriented service.
    The company went out of its way to satisfy her guests, Wilbert said.
   “The presentation was good,” she said. “They even had floral arrangements and table cloths that were not part of the contract. Kathy had also made some special Danishes that went real well, and it wasn’t necessarily expected.”
   Crystal Lopez, a senior secretary for business and technology on SE Campus, was also among Woodruff’s first customers.
“[Woodruff] was very nice and polite,” she said. “There were a lot of choices; the prices were fair, and everybody liked it.”
   She ordered 20 lunch boxes from the company and said the company’s food was much fresher than the college’s last vendor, and everything was delivered on time.
   Woodruff said she believes by earning the customers’ hearts, the company will have a great future on each TCC campus, a place that has been known as the cafeteria vendors’ graveyard.
   “I think students can expect a friendly smile,” she said, “and some good tasting food.”