A popular catch phrase in the services industry, “the customer comes first,” may be an appropriate phrase for those exploring ideas for expansion of the Hawk’s Nest.

Students, faculty and staff shared their ideas and concerns for enhancing and expanding the Hawk’s Nest last Wednesday at the Food Services Advisory Committee meeting.

“The committee meeting was called to discuss the food concepts that should be contained within the Hawk’s Nest in order to make it a more successful and satisfying dining option for students, faculty and staff,” said Richard Fauson, director of auxiliary services.

According to Fauson, the information from the advisory committee will be used to develop a survey that will sample a larger group of students. “The Hawk’s Nest is our number one area that we really need to do something about because we’re five to six years behind where we need to be,” said Tom Williamson, director of Aramark food services at UNCW. “The population of students on this campus is growing and the Hawk’s Nest really hasn’t grown.”

Aramark provides food service to 240 campuses nationwide. Their current role in the project is to act as consultants, using their knowledge of what has been successful on other campuses to try and judge what would be successful here.

“Especially at lunch you can see that getting in and out of the Hawk’s Nest is purely hectic,” Williamson said. “Not only is it hectic for the customers, but it is also pretty hectic for the employees to work in that type of environment. Therefore, it needs to be a priority, not only from a customer service stand point, but the biggest issue is to expand it, make it bigger, and modernize it to make it a more user-friendly and diverse environment.”

Some of the concepts proposed by students at the meeting were: fried chicken, pizza, subs or sandwiches, hamburgers, ice cream or frozen yogurt, and coffee.

They agreed that the addition of Italian, Mexican, Chinese or Country Cookin’ would be appealing. They also think that the Hawk’s Nest doesn’t offer enough options for the Vegetarian or Vegan population on campus. They agreed that a healthier option, other than the salad bar, would be another area for improvement.

All of the students on the committee also agreed that national chain restaurants would attract more business. According to Fauson, the drawback to having all national chain restaurants is that they are the most expensive. Local and regional products are cheaper, but the non-branded products are the least expensive. If the Hawk’s Nest consisted of all national chain restaurants, food prices would likely increase as well as the price of meal plans.

“We are trying to find the proper mix of all three,” Fauson said.

Another issue presented at the meeting was about extending the Hawk’s Nest’s hours of operation.

“I definitely think that the Hawk’s Nest should be open on weekends because I do not like to eat at just Wagoner every day, I’d rather have other options of where I could eat,” said Daron Zeno, freshman member of the food services advisory board. “I feel like on weekends I primarily go off campus to eat because only Wagoner is open.”

Many of the students who live on campus have complained that during weekends, Wagoner has limited hours of operation. The only other food vendor open on campus at that time is the convenient store, Seahawk Station. “Because the student population will continue to grow each year auxiliary services and food services are pushed to do something in order to expand our food service,” Fauson said. “However, if the physical expansion of the University Union is not going to take place for some time, then we must find a way to accommodate the increased population on this campus.”

One of the potential ways to help to accommodate students is to have a series of satellite food stands set up around campus, where students can grab a snack or a quick meal between classes. Fauson said that he would like to see the conceptual part of the expansion plan completed by the end of the semester. However, he is still waiting to hear if the University Union expansion is going to take place. “Our first choice is to go into a new food service facility within that new part of the building,” he said.