Kylemore to take over all on-campus catering and food outlets (apart from SU shops_

Raphael wrote: »

You would indeed sir. Fresca, 911 and the Insomnia in Conway are all definitely closed.

Is there anywhere decent for staff/students this week then? I really needed my overpriced coffee hit this morning

Is the grind staying open?

Raphael wrote: »

The Grind has been closed all summer.

Currently open is: The restaurant, Café Brava, the Sports Café, and all SU shops. Centra is also probably still open, but I haven't been up that way today.

The grind is currently part of that chipper/chinese (is cafe brava that place?) on the ground floor for the summer. Just didn't know if they were closed or not. Are Kylemore making many changes to the other businesses, no work going on in cafe fresca, seen the new crowd interviewing/talking to the old staff, whether that means they will remain or not is yet to be seen, no more decent coffee down there either way (it did used to be bad but then they learned how to clean the machine and not leave stale grinds in it anymore and it improved tremendously).

mloc wrote: »

Had a crap lunch from Cafe Brava today.

I think it's going to be a case of bringing in my own lunch today and eating it where Insomnia used to be. There's a sign up in Insomnia (in Conway), incidentally, indicating that it will soon house a Starbucks.

I died a little inside when I seen the Starbucks sign, it was bad enough overpaying Insomnia for sour coffee, now I'll be overpaying (by alot more) Starbucks/Kylemore for weak barely flavoured coffee.

OneOfThem Stumbled wrote: »

Hey don't knock the quality of Starbucks coffee (apart from filter). It's only the price that is a nightmare (even if it is reduced on campus). Hopefully a large amount of diversity will be maintained between the different food outlets - although personally I have always found the SU bars the best.

I'll introduce a correction then, in my opinion, Starbucks isn't great quality coffee. I'll be back to making my own full time again, it was just nice to pop out and have it done for me.

Also Cafe Fresca is now Pulse Cafe, complete with tackey red heartbeat logo.

Red Alert wrote: »

Is it still going to be doing a similar menu to Fresca?

On the basis (I am guessing) they aren't doing any work inside then I presume there will be little in the way of changes to the style of the place ie a sandwich bar with coffee and pastries. It will undoubtedly change a bit menu wise but there are no signs up in regards to that end of things.

Oasis_Dublin wrote: »

Student bar chips are great. It's just a pity that they insist upon blaring out crap music at 1 in the afternoon.

Wow, I really am getting out. :eek:

When is the forum re opening? time to go back to my classic of sausage beans and chips. SU bar is to far to walk on lunch break.

bobbykerr wrote: »

This is the situation as I understand it:
My Company Insomnia recently re tendered for our catering Contracts at the Quinn school of Business and the Conway Institute in UCD .
We(and all the other independent catering providers on Campus) lost the business having enjoyed a very positive relationship with the students and staff of UCD for almost 9 years in my case.:mad::mad::mad::mad:


The process around the selection of Kylemore as a single operator to replace all the independent operators appears flawed for the following reasons:

1. The principal that UCD would only allow a caterer operate a maximum of 2 outlets on Campus ( which had been the case up until this year) was changed for this tender. Only parties who bid for all 7 outlets were called for interview. We were disadvantaged by not bidding for all 7 licences as we were unaware that UCDs policy had changed in favour of a single operator.
2. The units currently operated by Kylemore on Campus( Smurfit School in Blackrock & Elements which is now closed in the science building) were excluded from the Tender process.
3. There was no student representation (the single biggest stakeholder) on the selection panel. I was involved in Catering tenders in UCC many years ago and the students always had representation on the catering tender panel.
4. There was no staff consultation (with the exception of the representative from each building)on the selection panel
5. There was inadequate notice to vacate given to each of the incumbent caterers on campus.

I greatly appreciate the business my company enjoyed in UCD over the years and I am heartened by the volumes of support that I have personally received from both staff and students who appear shocked that UCD would change from a service whereby there was competition on Campus to a situation whereby UCD have allowed a monopoly to be created with one caterer which cannot be in the interest of the Stakeholders in particular the staff and students.

It is despicable that it happened this way, I was talking to the staff in Cafe Fresca who mentioned similar things (they did not hear about the tender at all until the review was going on and applications were closed). The owner of Cafe Fresca/O'Briens was removed from a meeting by security when he went to the meeting at the last meeting to ask why he had not been informed.

They did not even give anyone more than 2 weeks to close down, I am no legal expert but I would have thought that there would have been a minimum of a month or a stated time in the contracts before removal could be enforced.

Hopefully they will re hire your old staff as that is the only decent thing left to do but I fear my final year working here will be one of packed lunches.

PS will miss your staff that worked in the Conway over the years, lovely people through my undergrad/postgrad etc.