Whether they’re picking up a late-night nacho cheese Gordita Crunch at Taco Bell or an early morning Dunkin’ Donuts Dunkachino, students regularly make Kimmel Food Court their spot of choice for SUpercard meals of all kinds.

But while the recently renovated Kimmel offers a wide variety of options for students, students’ opinions of its service and food options are not always the best. One major complaint by some students is the service at Taste Buds, the sandwich shop in Kimmel.

‘I asked for salami and the guy puts his hand on the lox,’ said Ron Levy, junior broadcast journalism major. ‘Literally, I’m looking at the guy in disbelief. I yell ‘salami’ and he puts his hand back on the lox.’

Part of the reason why students might claim that the service at Taste Buds isn’t the best is that most of the people who work there are part-time student employees, said Sue Bracy, assistant director of University Food Services.

‘The students work 10 to 15 hour weeks, 30 weeks a year,’ Bracy said. ‘Are they as qualified as the people who work year-round full time? No.’

George Azar, a junior in The College of Arts and Sciences, said he often asks for green peppers or oil and vinegar on his sandwich and they tell him they have none left. But oil is still available for the stir fry, and green peppers for the omelets. It might just be based on laziness, Azar guessed.

‘I don’t know how they’re trained because everyone says something different,’ he said. ‘It’s bullshit.’

None of the Taste Buds employees were available for comment.

Bracy offers a different explanation for the problems of Taste Buds. Other areas of Kimmel, such as Burger King, KFC and Sbarro, are big corporations which have their own methods of training. They need employees to watch videos or CDs provided by the company. With the SU-owned Taste Buds, although there are standards for training, employers must train workers on their own.

But Taste Buds does not account for all of the complaints about Kimmel. One other concern of some students is the rumor that taking water from the soda machine will begin costing students money. Bracy said this rumor is incorrect.

‘As long as you’re buying something at Kimmel, the water is free,’ Bracy said. ‘If you’re walking in and just getting water, then it is five cents.’

The biggest complaint managers receive from students are that the bottled beverages are not cold enough, Bracy said. But because they make changes when they get a significant amount of complaints, management bought new coolers for Kimmel a few years back. Next year they will replace the coolers in Schine Student Center’s food court with a whole new system.

Ever since its inception in 1992, Kimmel has been constantly changing. This year, its ceiling features new lights and the eating area’s seats were reupholstered. A register was also installed at Taco Bell to speed up the wait for students. These changes and others haven’t gone unnoticed by students since their arrival at SU this year.

‘When I was a freshman, there weren’t any salads or anything,’ said Lauren Ely, a senior public relations major. ‘There is a lot more healthy food now.’

The next step in the betterment of Kimmel will be a renovation of Dunkin’ Donuts, which Bracy said will allow its employees to sell more products. She also said Kimmel will continue to expand with more pre-made ‘dinner’ items at the stir-fry counter, such as meatloaf and potatoes.

Despite the complaints of their peers, some students say there is nothing wrong with Kimmel in its current state. Most credit its late hours during the weekend as its best feature.

‘It’s the best place to come, especially at Saturday at 1 a.m.,’ said Natalie Garcia, a freshman in the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. ‘After you are just getting back from having a nice night, you can come here and get food.’

Students working late on weeknights at HillTV across the street, such as Emily Craig, a senior television, radio and film, enjoy grabbing a late-night snack as well.

‘So when I’m there until 2 a.m. editing, it’s a good thing to have,’ Craig said.

Levy, despite his few gripes, also admits he enjoys what Kimmel has to offer the SU community.

‘What I ask for, they give me, and they don’t take three hours to do it,’ said Levy. ‘I have no strife with most of Kimmel.’

Published on October 19, 2004 at 12:00 pm