The University of Otago is seeking to revamp and extend its campus food and beverage offerings, with a specific focus on increasing availability and atmosphere outside of typical study hours.
A tender has been put out to consultants to provide a “campus wide food, beverage, and retail strategy. The aim of which is to maximize the relevance of services, excellent customer experience and surplus returned.” This plan would potentially include leasing outlets to different providers, including branded fast food chains, though special effort will be made to develop offerings which do not subtract from businesses in the immediate surrounding area that rely heavily on the student market (so don’t expect to see any more sushi shops popping up).
It is hoped that new and more vibrant dining outlets could create more of an atmosphere on campus after five o’clock, an issue that was identified in the 2010 Campus Master Plan, “At present the sense of life and activity on campus is restricted primarily to times at which classes are being held, which means the campus is substantially “dark” at night, at weekends, throughout semester breaks and end-of-year holidays.” Contractors who apply to tender have been asked to come up with a solution for this. The plan goes on to say, “One way of addressing this is to increase the retail and other services available on campus to stimulate its public use and enjoyment, and strengthen the desired sense of campus community. It would also assist security by increasing activity and passive surveillance.”
The university did raise some concerns about the proposal for more after dark atmosphere, with some saying it would decrease the esteemed regard in which a university should be held, saying that it was a “question of propriety and the desired ‘character’ of the campus – august institution or vibrant community?”
Companies submitting to tender have been asked to make their submissions by 22 May, at which point the campus’s retail future will become clearer.