Aramark’s upgrade with The Grille’s grand opening

Employees at The Grille on campus celebrated a “Grand Opening” from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 7. 

Some students were confused at the Grand Opening name since the building was already open for business; however, the event focused on the revamped locations offered in the student restaurant.  

The building hosts two locations: Revolve and B&F (Burgers and Fries). Based on the idea of a rotating schedule, Revolve changes its menu every three weeks. The first theme offered this semester was barbeque, followed by Asian cuisine. 

The Grille is operated by Aramark, an American corporation offering customer-oriented services “wherever people work, learn, recover and play,” according to their mission statement. Kelli-Anne Daily, general manager for food services with Aramark, said the Revolve location was formerly a Subway franchise; however, they felt the area needed a facelift.

“We started this concept last fall, and it replaced Subway. The reason we did that was that we felt that the students were wanting more variety, and this way we could give them hot cooked food that was cooked to order and give them the variety they were looking for,” Daily said. “In between the break of fall and spring, we wanted to give the other side a lift. We have a proprietary brand called B&F, which stands for Burgers and Fries. We found that if you find something that you can do, and you do it really well, that’s what Burgers and Fries is.”

Among the list of B&F’s regular food items, the restaurant also offers more unconventional options such as Beyond Burgers, burgers made from vegan ingredients; an avocado burger, made with guacamole and Fritos; and an assortment of chicken-based options. 

“Yes, it’s a smaller menu, but we focus on doing that really well,” Daily said. “That’s why we did the grand opening, because, within the school year, we’ve had two brand new concepts within the building.”

To celebrate the changes, the event offered interactive opportunities for visiting students. Among those opportunities were free samples, including the avocado and Beyond Burgers. 

“It was a part of the promotion to get the kids to come out and try the different variety of foods we offer on the B&F side,” said Adray Hudson, retail manager for The Grille with Aramark.

FMU merchandise was given out to attendees as well. 

“They had a chance to win some wonderful prizes we had,” Hudson said. “We had some FMU t-shirts, some insulated cups, some great gear cups, some lip balm, and we had coupons to give them a certain percentage off of their food purchases.”

“We’ll do different special things throughout the semester,” said Daily. “The whole goal is that we get the voice of the consumer. We want to know what the students think and what their thoughts are about how we’re doing in dining services, what they would like to see, and their thoughts and concerns. Because students don’t usually come up and do a survey, we offer an incentive such as a free food item or prize, and we really want to get the students engaged.”

To help give The Grille feedback, students can visit campusdish.com and search for FMU, where they can discover certain dining events and meal plans as well as have an opportunity to give feedback to both The Grille and the Ervin Dining Hall. Here, students can also view the menus of Revolve, B&F and the dining hall.