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Administrators from Panda Express are in talks with DU’s Sodexho meal service to possibly replace The Pub with the Chinese fast-food chain.
The staff did not say when the decision will be made final, but The Pub could be removed from the space as early as June, according to Scott Weingarten from Panda Express. Panda Express could be operating in the space by August 2011.
“We see continued preference of Asian food. We don’t have Asian food on campus – it’s one thing we’re missing out on, which is one of our top 3-5 categories of student preference [for Sodexho],” said Joe Zemla, campus general manager for Sodexho Dining Services. “With the partnership our company has with Panda Express, it just makes a lot of sense.”
DU’s Sodexho Dining Services spoke with Panda Express representatives on the phone two weeks ago about the possibility of locating on campus. Last week, Weingarten visited the DU campus to judge if the partnership would be a good fit for campus. He said Panda Express’s arrival on the DU campus is not about making money but about the campus environment and students.
If The Pub is eventually replaced by Panda Express, the Chinese fast-food restaurant will not serve alcohol – meaning DU will become a dry campus, as The Pub is currently the only location on campus to purchase alcohol.
“The Pub is a DU tradition,” said Golriz Vazirabadi, USG secretary of internationalization.
“I don’t like the fact that they’re getting rid of beer [available on campus],” said Katherine Snow, on-campus senator. “During my five-minute break for my class in Sturm, I know some students who go to The Pub and drink a beer.”
Snow is also concerned that Panda Express at DU does not match the university’s new move towards sustainability, environmental awareness and health.
The Panda Express initiative will reach students school-wide next week, when food sampling will be made available to all students.
Panda Express will only come to DU if students embrace the replacement, Weingarten and Zemla both said. Students will be polled about Panda Express on campus in the future. When that poll will occur, however, is unconfirmed.
When Snow suggested she could poll students via email, Weingarten and Zemla said Panda Express must poll students through an official process organized by the Panda Express national office.
Snow, like other members of senate, was also surprised by the way in which Panda Express and Sodexho approached USG about the initiative.
“I’m disappointed we [USG] didn’t know about this [Panda Express replacing The Pub] before the meeting,” Snow said. “I figured Sodexho would come to us about Panda Express, not Panda coming to us about Panda.”
One hundred percent of the Panda Express initiative and replacement will be funded by Panda Express if it is finalized, according to Weingarten.
