Recent updates and refurbishing efforts being made at the Student Union food court include a new entry on the menu, Quiznos Subs. Quiznos has only been open since the first week of school, but the plans to add Quiznos to the food court have been in place since the last spring semester.

“I think it’s a great decision for the university,” said Katy Schwartz, director of clubs and organization for SGA. “It’s a chain we don’t already have in St. Joe. It’s a name that people recognize. It’s healthy food and it’s an alternative to a burger and fries at McDonald’s. People seem to enjoy it a lot.”

The prices were reasonable, according to Schwartz.

“It’s a chain so they have to be priced competitively with their national headquarters.”

The decision to add Quiznos to the food court was made by the university administration and Aramark, the Student Union food service provider, according to Schwartz.

“They decided that they wanted a chain, and it happened to be a chain that we didn’t have here in St. Joe.” Schwartz said.

Jim Maides, the director of Aramark concurs. He and the administration sat down and looked at their options and they decided that Quiznos was the best choice.

“The primary reason was that there was not another Quiznos in St. Joe,” Maides said. “It gave both Missouri Western and Aramark the opportunity to be the first - so that is kind of a cool thing. It gave us a little bit of bragging rights, and some pride.”

“I think it would be a smart decision to add more chains,” said Schwartz. “Quiznos is a start to opening a lot of doors for other chain restaurants to come to Missouri Western.”

Maides said that, Aramark has no plans at this point to add any more chains, but they are not going to rule anything out.

“We are going to let the dust settle on this one first,” Maides said. “So far it has been a very popular addition, so I would say that the possibility exist for others down the road.”

“It’s been very well received, we have seen business that we normally wouldn’t,” Maides said.

The reaction to the new addition of Quiznos has been very popular with most of the customers.

“Excellent,” student Tyler Davis said. “The prices are the same as in Kansas City, and there is no Quiznos in St. Joe.”

When comparing the different foods served at the food court, Davis said, “The foods a lot better at Quiznos.”

Not everybody has tried the new Quiznos.

“I haven’t eaten there at all,” student Dana Wertz said.

However, malcontent germinates in the minds of some of the food court’s customers.

“I think it’s ridiculous when you come in here at noon,” student D Byron said. “The new Quiznos causes a big line at the money line.”

Byron feels that there should be three cashiers at lunchtime - the two that presently exist, and a third at the Quiznos food station.

“I don’t know why they even bother to heat up the food,” Byron said. “It’s cold by the time you pay for it.”

Matt Baylor agreed, “You should be able to check out at the Quiznos if you buy Quiznos.”

“I love it. I’ve eaten at Quiznos before,” said Nicole Caysing, a student from Chicago in reference to a Quiznos in her hometown. Caysing also felt that the lines were too long.

Maides stated that the long lines are only at the peak hours of noon to 1 p.m., and that the traffic that they receive is tracked by Aramark all of the time.

Maides cautioned that it was too soon to tell what would happen regarding the traffic at lunchtime, that the first few weeks of school are always their busiest time of the year.

“We don’t really get a clear picture of what’s really going to happen until after we are into the month of October,” Maides said.

Another issue regarding the new Quiznos is the hours that it is open for business. The food court is open until 1 a.m. every day, but the Quiznos is only open until 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and until midnight on Saturday. If students want to eat Quiznos, they will have to get there before 8 p.m.

Maides explains that the discrepancy in closing times may only be temporary.

“This is yet to be resolved; our hours are never carved into stone,” Maides said. “There is always a debate about what the right hours of service are what options are available. The hours that we are operating under right now are the hours that were agreed upon by (Dean of Students) Paul Shang and Student Government Association. Could Quiznos stay open later? Sure. If it was up to Dr. Shang, food service would be open 24 hours a day.”