Photo Courtesy / Eliyas Jeffay

Students who are concerned about the lack of food options on campus will be glad to know that three new vendors have been finalized for operation in the student centre, taking over the spot that was formerly A&W.

As per current plans, KFC, Taco Bell and Hero Burgers will open in early August. All three franchises will be owned and operated by the SCSU, a unique decision that will allow the union to use profits to fund the student services that they offer.

“This is a project that I’m very excited for. It’s a lot of work and it’s very unconventional. When these open up, the SCSU will be one of the only student unions in all of North America that owns and operates a student centre, a restaurant and food vendors in its Student Centre,” said SCSU president, John Aruldason. “All that operation is kicked back into its services and core activities.”

He hopes that the extra cash will help alleviate the tight budget of events programming and clubs funding.

Aruldason said that this initiative was set in motion last summer, when the union contemplated not renewing A&W’s contract.

“Essentially, they [A&W] were behind in rent and then they paid up their back rent in full. Their contract came up for renewal and we opted not to renew it because we had rent deficiency issues,” Aruldason explained.

A&W didn’t take this decision very well, arguing that the union did not have the legal right to force the franchise to vacate. They took the SCSU to court over the winter break, hoping to stay open until the end of January, and the union won. A&W closed in early January.

Aruldason said that the legal troubles were a bit of a hassle, but gave the organization more time to accumulate student surveys about potential replacements.

“Quality and price were the two biggest factors for students,” he said. “Students that ate on campus once in a while wanted high quality food. People that ate on campus often just wanted the cheapest food possible.”

After evaluating several proposals, the union decided that KFC and Hero Burgers would satisfy both groups of students. The addition of Taco Bell proved to come at a small cost, so the union jumped at the opportunity to increase variety.

Aruldason said that KFC and Taco Bell would have the same economical prices that all its franchises advertise, while the price point of Hero Burgers would be comparable to Subway.

All the new vendors will be staffed with students. Aruldason projects that this will open up 150-200 new student jobs on campus.

Future plans for the student centre include a proposed dental office in the empty space next to the former A&W location. The clinic will compliment the health and dental plan that the SCSU currently offers.

Aruldason is confident that this unique initiative will help the SCSU to serve students better.

“This transition will forever change the organization and the way it functions. Many years ago someone started working on the Student Centre, and look what the result is,” he said. “If we fast forward five or 10 years from now, the benefit that these franchises will bring will be huge.”