College Town Hospitality: 5 Steps to Ace the Course to Success
By: MRLA Sponsor Gordon Food Services
College campuses are a melting pot. Serving students, faculty, and parents on game days and more, local restaurants need to ace their own course to success in college town hospitality. Gordon Food Service® experts versed on college town dining have advice for operators when it comes to growing business near campus.
Build a Great Team
The nearby school likely contributes to your restaurant’s success in two ways. People associated with campus fill your tables, and you depend on students for staffing needs, says Gordon Food Service Business Solutions Specialist Joe Lynch.
Promoting diversity and social sensitivity can be as important to your staff as providing a paycheck. Students come from a variety of backgrounds, so welcome workers the same as you welcome guests. Just remember, above all, that they are students.
“Anything you can do to allow flexible schedules around classes or game days is huge,” Lynch said. “A good, fun work atmosphere will encourage students to refer friends to fill openings.”
Build a Great Team
The nearby school likely contributes to your restaurant’s success in two ways. People associated with campus fill your tables, and you depend on students for staffing needs, says Gordon Food Service Business Solutions Specialist Joe Lynch.
Promoting diversity and social sensitivity can be as important to your staff as providing a paycheck. Students come from a variety of backgrounds, so welcome workers the same as you welcome guests. Just remember, above all, that they are students.
“Anything you can do to allow flexible schedules around classes or game days is huge,” Lynch said. “A good, fun work atmosphere will encourage students to refer friends to fill openings.”
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Be Flavor Forward
A great team helps create delicious food. Kurt Kwiatkowski, Gordon Food Service Corporate Consulting Chef, reminds operators that “flavor matters,” especially when feeding students looking to satisfy an appetite for bold tastes or local foods, or even ways to meet dietary restrictions like allergies or vegan and vegetarian preferences. “Be authentic above all, and don’t try to replicate a food just to put it on the menu,” he said. “Do your research to find the right flavor profiles you can execute consistently.” Flavor buzzwords like “Nashville hot,” “gochujang Korean barbecue,” “Wonton nachos” or “birria” can become entrées or simply an add-on to a pizza or burger. |
Think Outside Your Four Walls
Campus-restaurant partnerships pay off. There can be hundreds of clubs and organizations that meet on campus. Many have catering needs.
“If you’re bringing food into the athletic area or the student union building, there are rules to follow – compliance paperwork, procedures and safety standards,” Kwiatkowski said. “Talk to the school or those running the foodservice operation and get on their approved vendor list.”
Campus-restaurant partnerships pay off. There can be hundreds of clubs and organizations that meet on campus. Many have catering needs.
“If you’re bringing food into the athletic area or the student union building, there are rules to follow – compliance paperwork, procedures and safety standards,” Kwiatkowski said. “Talk to the school or those running the foodservice operation and get on their approved vendor list.”
We Can Help
Call on us for menu support, culinary ideas, products that meet clean-label or local-sourcing needs, digital tools and branding solutions. Our Gordon Food Service Show invites you to see new products, talk with our team and network with other operators.
Call on us for menu support, culinary ideas, products that meet clean-label or local-sourcing needs, digital tools and branding solutions. Our Gordon Food Service Show invites you to see new products, talk with our team and network with other operators.
