Day-to-day shopping needs like baked goods and fresh fruit will soon be available at Bartlett. A store, run by Aramark, is slated to open some time after spring break. “It’s long overdue,” said Ben Aderson, Student Government President. “It’ll really benefit the students, particularly those in Max Palevsky.”
“It’ll look like an advanced version of a 7-eleven,” said Steve Klass, Resident district manager for Aramark, the University’s food service. The store will be under the supervision of the director of the Bartlett Dining Commons, an Aramark employee.
The convenience store will occupy about 1600 square feet on the ground floor of the Bartlett Dining Commons, and will be open from about noon until 2 a.m.
The store will carry “typical convenience store items,” including frozen goods, baked goods, and health and beauty aids, said Joelle Davis, resident district head for Aramark.
“We’re also hoping to have some specialty food areas, maybe some kosher items. We’re working with the vendors and trying to see what we can provide,” she said. “It’s going to be a lot like a small grocery store. There will probably be a Mexican/Hispanic section, an Asian section, and an organic section.”
Cigarettes and alcohol will not be sold in the store. “Most people won’t expect those; we will be selling condoms, though. Students had been asking,” Davis said.
The store will also be equipped with a coffee bar. “We’re going to have a Java City espresso site in there,” Davis said. “You can buy coffee beans or you can just buy a cup of coffee or a latte or something.”
Klass was confident that the new store would not draw business away from the University-run C-Shop or Uncle Joe’s, the student-run second floor coffee shop, both located in the Reynolds Club. “it’s not a place to sit and stay,” Klass said, “It’s a place to pick up [coffee] on your way to something. I don’t think I’ll collide with what we do at the C-Shop. We’re adding another level of product and service to the campus, not necessarily competing.
Kira Rigoni, the manager of Uncle Joe’s, agreed. “It’s not going to be much more competition than the C-Shop already. It’s run by the same people and presumably in the same price range. People come up [to Uncle Joe’s] for the atmosphere and the prices.”
Students will have the option of paying with Flex Dollars, debit card, credit card or cash.
Everything is on schedule for the opening, planned for March 25th. “We’re on track,” said Davis. “Though with construction, as I’ve really learned lately, you’re never quite certain.”
A student committee is currently working with Klass to name the store. “We’d like to ask students to name it,” Klass said. “We need to get uniforms and signage made.”
