Along with prices for real estate, gas and the overall cost of living, prices at the Panorama Grill have been raised.
This sudden change in costs at BC’s cafeteria has not pleased students who regularly have lunch here.
“A lot of students are on a tight budget and some can’t afford to eat here,” said sophomore Gayla Gonzalez. Most incoming freshman don’t realize that the prices were lower before they arrived, but agree about how the grill is a bit pricey.
“The food off campus is more satisfying. It’s not worth the amount you pay here, “said freshman Hector Dominguez.
“Some prices went up last semester,” said Food Service Manager Alex Gomez, who has worked at the Panorama Grill for six years. “Only certain items on the menu, though.”
New items on the menu include: fish and chips with coleslaw ($5.50), a teriyaki chicken sandwich ($4), a breakfast burger ($3.25) and various other treats. The sudden raise in some of the price increase is due to the cafeteria’s current change in product costs such as bread, which has doubled in value since last year, according to Gomez.
“A tremendous increase to the cost of all our products is because of gas,” said Gomez. “We are even having to pay fuel surcharges on deliveries that we have not had to in the past.”
Gomez said that the price issue is not personal and not to make profit. “We’re not going to raise prices unless we have to,” he said. “We’re not supposed to make money for the school, but we’re not supposed to lose it either. We have to be self-sufficient.”
The school does not pay for the grill, so the grill must rely on BC students. “We try to be as fair as possible,” Gomez said. “We don’t charge students tax on anything.”
Instead of raising the price of one item, Gomez spread the cost in order to level everything out. “Not everything has to be run at the same cost percentage,” he said. Most fruits went up 25 cents, and chili fries went up 10 cents. Coke products will raise 3% each year because of a contract they have with the cafeteria.
For the first week of school, the cafeteria had 38 fewer customers than last year, but reported higher sales figures. “In 2005, we started a week earlier. We served over 10,000 customers the first week,” Gomez said. “We had an increase in sales for the first week of school compared to last year of 5.7%.”