Ultimate dining: Sodexho opens 'Marketplace' concept: renovated servery offers Fordham's students a streamlined experience filled with new options

Nation's Restaurant News, Nov 22, 2004 by Paul King

NEW YORK -- As Fordham University in the Bronx here looked forward to the first major renovation of its oncampus, main dining facility in three decades, the contractor, Gaithersburg, Md.-based Sodexho, knew it couldn't give the 15,000 students just any new look.

As a result, Sodexho, which manages the Jesuit college's foodservice program, spent most of the last year preparing for the "Ultimate Dining Marketplace."

Open since September in the McGinley Center but officially dedicated last month, the Ultimate Dining Marketplace, a new take on an existing facility, has given resident students a chance to experience a restaurant environment in a 5,000-square-foot servery where most foods are prepared to order.

"This is really a big departure from anything we've ever had," said Brian Byrne, Ph.D., Fordham's vice president for administration. "The marketplace finally is bringing to students what they're experiencing off campus."

More than 200 students attended the grand opening of the dining facility. University president Father Joseph McShane was on hand for the dedication. Fordham's Jazz Band played during dinner, and the catering staff passed hors d'oeuvre and sparkling cider at a reception an hour before the actual dedication.

The Ultimate Dining Marketplace, which cost $3.2 million to build, is a semicircular servery with eight separate stations offering everything from traditional favorites to vegan entrees. One station, Gifts from the Garden, caters to the needs of students expressing a desire for vegetarian or vegan foods. Another station, Garden Toss, is the self-serve salad bar. Other stations are Soup & Sandwich, International, Euro-Kitchen, Grill, Pizza and Bakery.

"One of the best aspects of the new servery is the fact that students no longer have to stand in line, waiting to be served," Byrne noted. "They head right for the station they want, and there are beverage dispensers at each station, so there is no logjam at a beverage island. Students can get in and out much more quickly."

Michael DeMartino, Fordham's executive chef, said his staff also enjoys the new look of the servery.

"The students like the fact that food is being plated as they come up to the station or being prepared while they wait," DeMartino said. "For us, it's great being right there in front of the customers. We can talk with them and get a sense of what they like and don't like right away."

Lisa Lahiji, marketing manager for Sodexho at Fordham, said the renovation has given the contract company a chance to promote its new holistic approach to wellness. Called Balance, Mind, Body and Soul, the program advocates healthful eating as one of several ways to improve one's body, mind and spirit. Lahiji has designed a number of brochures that students can pick up in the dining hall at mealtimes.

The nine-month renovation also gave Sodexho a chance to expose more customers to other campus-dining options, such as the Ramskellar, The Annex, the Student Deli, the Millennium Grille, Jazzman's Cafe and Dagger John's restaurant.

Lahiji added that the university next plans to renovate the Ultimate Dining Marketplace's 500-seat dining area before turning its attention to its other foodservice facilities, such as the Ramskellar, which is located in the basement of McGinley Center.

The Ultimate Dining Marketplace is the largest of several renovations Sodexho completed in time for the current academic year. Other renovations occurred at the University of South Carolina-Spartanburg, the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and Lambuth University in Jackson, Tenn.