The newly opened on-campus Burger King continues to get high marks from students and administrators despite a few kinks since its opening Aug. 31.
“It’s good to have more choices,” sophomore Brandi Darden said. “Everyone seems to like it here, as seen by the long line. It moves more quickly then you’d think.”
“It’s nice to have a well-known place here,” freshman Khalid Al-Homaizi said.
“It’s one of those establishments that students clamored for,” said Mike Gargano, director of the Marvin Center. “Students advocated for this and University administrators listened to what the students wanted and delivered it.
“The salad bar and the all-day breakfast bar are two other initiatives students said they wanted to see at J Street and they are also being very well received,” he said.
Although the Burger King has been well-received, the transition has not been without some snags.
“The food is good, but the wait’s too long,” graduate student Chung Jong-Seo said. “They need to improve their system because people seem to just stand still and wait for sandwiches.”
The limited amount of food available also is a problem, some students said.
“The problem is that they never have enough food,” senior Joe Bonomo said. “I guess that shows people are excited about it.”
Students can pay for food at Burger King with debit dollars, meal points or cash but not through GW’s meal deals, which has riled some students.
“It’s too bad it’s not on a meal plan so freshmen can eat here,” sophomore Nimish Patel said. “It’s too bad they closed the diner where you could get burgers and stuff on the meal plan.”
Al Ingle, associate vice president for business affairs, said the Burger King franchise was brought to campus through Aramark, the company that runs other on-campus food vendors.
The contract with Burger King runs to the year 2000, when the University’s contract with Aramark expires, Ingle said.
To bring Burger King to campus, a development cost of $100,000 was shared by GW and Aramark.
“Burger King is an outstanding addition,” Ingle said. “I’m excited to have it on campus. I have a meeting with student leaders this week and we’ll be getting more feedback at that time. Overall, it’s had a good reception and I think it’s a wonderful operation.”
Administrators are trying to bring Subway to the Cortile Caffe, located in Mitchell Hall, by late October or November, Ingle said.
Ingle also said plans are underway to open a chicken or Mexican food franchise in J Street by next fall.
