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CLOSED OU EATING OPERATIONS AND INCREASED NORMAN RESTAURANT TRAFFIC COINCIDE
Norman Restaurants See Increased Business on Weekends

If one were to dine at a Norman restaurant on the weekends, one might notice the increase in restaurant traffic and a decrease in parking spot availability.

“I’m basically forced to go eat out on weekends to eat, and when I do there's always longer lines and it takes longer to make my food, but at least it's good for Norman restaurants," freshman Will McWhirter said.

The reason for increased restaurant traffic and decreased parking spot availability is because Norman restaurants have better business on the weekends, Darrol Ray said, co-owner of Ray’s Smokehouse BBQ located on W. Lindsey Street.

Typically Ray’s makes most of its profit on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Ray said.

However, Ray’s isn’t the only Norman restaurant that sees increased business during the weekend.

Texadelphia – located on W. Lindsey Street – and Seven47 – located on Asp Avenue – see about a 30 percent increase on the weekends compared to weekdays, Brian Bogert said, owner of Texadelphia and Seven47.

And increased restaurant sales don’t end with Ray’s, Texadelphia and Seven47.

Lucky Star, a Chinese restaurant, located next to Ray’s on W. Lindsey Street, also experiences more customers during the weekend, Sanny Lee said, a Lucky Star employee.

“There are times on weekdays where we don’t have any customers,” Lee said. “But during the weekends most tables are occupied”.

Since Norman is home to a university with over 26,000 students, according to the College and University Directory, the demand for restaurants is high, Ray said.

“Restaurants are in such high demand, and there’s such a high restaurant per capita rate in Norman, that it almost scared me away from settling here,” Ray said.

Weekends Also Equal More Student Business
Along with increased business, Ray’s, Texadelphia, Seven47, and Lucky Star also see a higher number of student customers.

During the weekends at Ray’s, about 30 percent of its customers are students, compared to only about 20 percent student customers during weekdays, Ray said.

Those statistics are similar to Lucky Star’s. In a normal week without holidays, Lucky Star sees about 30 percent student customers compared to about 10 percent student customers on weekdays, Lee said.

Closed Campus Food Options Affect Increased Norman Restaurant Traffic
Both Ray and Lee said closed campus food operations played a role in its increased weekend business.

“We see flocks of students come in for lunch and dinner on the weekends, and they don’t have to,” Ray said. “They could stay on campus eat at the open campus restaurants, but we appreciate it. Obviously the choices are more limited for students during weekends on campus”.

Ray, a former OU student athlete, lived in the athletic dorms in 1980 and experienced the closed cafeteria every weekend, which forced him to venture off campus for meals.

“Looking back to when I lived in the athletic dorms the cafeteria closed on the weekends,” Ray said. “So I always had to go out to eat and spend money. Nobody goes hungry, everyone has to eat somewhere”.

Campus Operations Close to Save Money
There are currently 22 dining locations on campus, according to the university’s Housing and Food Web site. However, only six of these dining options are fully open on the weekends: Burger King, Crossroads, O’Henry’s, Oliver’s, Taco Mayo, and Xcetera.

“Those six operations that are open on the weekends are fairly busy throughout the course of Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday before Couch restaurants opens back up on Sunday evenings for dinner,” Lauren Royston said, Housing and Food Services Marketing and Public Relations Specialist. “Those operations see great traffic and our student response to those being available is really positive”.

These six operations stay open on the weekends for three main reasons: it saves the university around $250,000 per year, many students leave campus for the weekend therefore all 22 food options aren’t necessary and the six open food operations can handle the volume, Food Service Director Chuck Weaver said.

In Kitchen Comments Issue No. 633, Dave Annis, Former Food Services Director and current Housing and Food Services Director, said when Couch was open all weekend there weren’t many customers from Friday night until Sunday afternoon which ultimately led to lost profit.

Customer Service a Top Priority for Food Services
To give students better eating options, since 16 operations are closed, Food services broadened meal card use around campus. Currently, Burger King, Cate Center and Crossroads have meal exchange capability which allows students full access of the menu with their Sooner ID card, Weaver said.

But customer service is Food Services top priority and the Food Services employees are always in planning stages of improving, Weaver said.

Introduced last year, room service from Cate ala Carte was added as a convenience for students living in residence halls or OU Traditions Square. The room service is available every day of the week, and is considered another weekend eating option for students, according to the Housing and Food Web site.

Freshmen Thoughts on Closed Operations
Although Food Services closes 16 operations to save money, which increases local Norman restaurant sales, some students aren’t OK with eating off campus every weekend.

“All the effort to please students with meal plans, like myself, doesn’t go unnoticed,” McWhirter said. “It’s just frustrating because the only place I enjoy eating is the cafeteria, and when it’s closed, it forces me to eat out”.

There aren’t plans to fully reopen Couch Cafeteria, or the other closed operations, on the weekends in the near future, Weaver said.

Owner’s Thoughts about University Not Changing Closings
So while students may not be pleased with eating off campus, restaurants owners, like Ray, see the closed campus eating operations in a positive light.

Ray said the university’s decision to keep 16 of the 22 campus food operations closed for the weekend can only increase sales for his restaurant.

"Doesn’t hurt it, doesn’t hurt it," Ray said. “It certainly isn’t bad for [Ray’s Smokehouse BBQ]. It only gives students more reason to come eat here”.

Closed campus food operations and increased restaurant profit on weekends coincide with one another, Bogert said.

"In general more people just eat out on the weekends," Bogert said. "People look at the weekends as mini vacations and want to eat out".

So unless Food Services decided to fully reopen Couch Cafeteria or any of the 16 closed food operations, things seem as if they might stay the same.

“For now I’ll keep going off campus to eat,” McWhirter said. “Only until I figure a better way, or perhaps more affordable way, to eat on the weekends".



Check out the slideshow and video related to the story:

Students Leaving Campus for Thanksgiving
When OU classes end on Tuesday, many students are leaving campus to travel to their hometowns for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Break will start Wednesday November 25 and last through Friday November 27.

“I haven’t even heard anyone say they’re staying in Norman over the break,” Chad Kelly said, who’s going to Houston for Thanksgiving. “Norman will probably be completely empty”.

Students will return for classes Monday November 30, and will not see another break until finals week is over Friday December 18.

Check out the video coverage below:

OU Student to Fulfill Music Dream
Sophomore Rusty Redden isn’t your average OU student; in fact, Redden will be completing a dream of his starting next semester.

Redden will be transferring to Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee – one of the nation’s most prestigious musical schools. In the past few months Redden has even been paid to play guitar, alongside his band, in several popular Dallas locations.

“When I leave for Belmont University, hopefully it’ll be a big step in becoming a well-known musician,” Redden said. “I mean Dave [Matthews] started out like this, so maybe someday my music will impact other's lives”.

Redden and his band will continue playing in different locations this semester, and then Redden will start classes at Belmont University in January.

Check out the video and slideshow below:

17,000 Square Foot Addition Implemented for Ellsworth Collings Hall

OU President David L. Boren has approved a capital fund-raising campaign to meet the growing and evolving needs of the College of Education’s students in order to continue the tradition of providing an outstanding and challenging educational environment, according to OU College of Education website.

The College of Education has experienced tremendous growth that exceeds the capacity of the existing building, resulting in the 17,000 square foot addition to Collings Hall. Improved facilities are needed to continue to bring in top students and faculty, and provide the most appropriate learning environment.

"We are able to start construction because of a generous gift," Bill Moakley said, Director of Communications for the College of Education. "[The College of Education] looks forward to starting the Fall 2010 semester".

The projected completion date for Collings Hall is late spring or earlier summer of 2010 and they anticipate holding classes in the building in the fall of 2010, according to Moakley.

See the video and slideshow below:

Shack-a-thon to Help Less-Fortunate Wednesday
All of the proceeds from the OU Shack-a-thon will go toward a local Norman family.

Tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the South Oval, students will create their own shacks made from cardboard, tape and other easily accessible items. The students will be collecting donations to fund the next Habitat for Humanity house build.

“Shack-a-thon is a creative way to give back to the Norman community,” Jason Denny said, a Shack-a-thon volunteer. “Many students have spare change they won’t use so we will be collecting it all day.”

Habitat for Humanity will build a house for a less-fortunate Norman family with Shack-a-thon donations accounting for partial building costs.

See the video and slideshow below:

A student runs near the Cate Center dormitories Friday. Cate Center is currently under renovations.

Cate Center Significantly More Affordable than Towers
Although the Cate Center quads are undergoing renovations, Cate is still the most affordable of the residence halls.

The Cate Center rooms are the last to be upgraded; therefore the prices are significantly lower than the Adams, Couch or Walker towers. The cost is $4,312 for a single room in the quads, while the price to live in the towers is $5,010 for a single room, according to the Housing and Food Services website.

“I had to switch from the Cate Center dormitories to Couch dormitories because the difference in price was not worth the lack of quality,” freshman Laurence Greene said, a former Cate Center resident.

The plan is to completely finish upgrading all four dormitory options.