Grind weighs Tivoli future

Snack Attack store loses bid on lease; small businesses feeling squeezed

By Boyd Fletcher
fletchar@mscd.edu

The future of an independently owned campus staple, The Daily Grind, lies in question, while another independent, the Snack Attack convenience store, has been outbid for its lease by Sodexho.

Mark Arseneau, co-owner of The Daily Grind with his sister Deb, could not say on record if they plan to seek a new lease, but if not it would mean the end of a 14-year run in the northeast corner of the Tivoli.

The Grind's renewal options on its lease have run up, and according to campus policy, it would have to compete with any other vendors that would be interested in the spot by submitting a new proposal and bid to Auraria Higher Education Center.

If it does not get a new lease, the Grind would be the second independently owned business to leave campus this year along with Snack Attack, the convenience store on the second floor of the Tivoli.

Snack Attack's lease is up at the end of February, and put in a bid, but did not receive another contract for its current space. Instead, the Tivoli will be making way for Quick Zone, a convenience store chain managed by Sodexho, the largest food and facilities management corporation in North America.

Zachary Banks, a student representative to the Auraria board, was on the committee that decided on the four different proposals for the Snack Attack space. Banks said the Sodexho plan, in particular, was appealing to the committee because of its work on campuses across country.

"They (Sodexho) had a history, which was definitely a positive thing for us," Banks said. "And being that the Snack Attack has a smaller space as-is, they were already mentioning expanding the space and putting in more room for healthier items. None of the other proposals we had were as well put together as their package."

Banks said that the pricing for food on all four bids was even across the board.

Sodexho already operates Pete's Arena Pizza, Freshen's Smoothie Company and Auraria Campus Catering in the Tivoli as well as Einstein Bros. Bagels in the Ninth Street Park.

"A lot of people are concerned with Sodexho's growing presence on the campus," Banks said. "And in a way it is, but if you look at all the spaces that the Auraria campus has, as far as vendors and other companies on campus, they are only 20 percent of all of our businesses... That is something we were all concerned about because we didn't want it to end up like 60-40, but 20 percent in the big picture is not that much."

Dave Caldwell, finance and program manager for the AHEC, said that his office makes every effort to collect bids from a broad range of potential tenants.

When a lease comes up, Caldwell puts ads out in local papers announcing the opening of the space to the public as well as notifying all current and potential tenants he has on file.

"I sent proposal requests out to all interested parties, blanketing everything," Caldwell said. "We want to let them decide whether the property is right for them."

The proposal request given to the potential businesses contains information on what concept AHEC is looking for, the length of the term of the lease and boilerplate rules and regulations given by the state for all businesses.

If the business still has interest in the space, it would have to attend a mandatory pre-bid meeting. It is then up to the business to submit a bid.

A pre-selected committee of five student-elected representatives and two staff members then submits the proposals for approval. All bids are sealed, and generally are submitted 30 days from the day the proposal requests were sent out.

Caldwell said in order for all parties to have an equal opportunity, everyone receives a written list of the criteria on how the bids will be evaluated.

Members of the committee receive the proposals, and individually they evaluate them based on the following ideas: business experience (20 percent), creativity and adequacy of food plan prepared (30 percent), operational plan (15 percent), the financial package (20 percent) and design and resources available to the space (15 percent).

The student representatives then return to another meeting, go over their individual evaluations, and decide together the best options for the campus. Staff members of the committee can vote with the students if necessary, but in this recent decision about the Snack Attack space, they did not have to.

Sean Finnegan, district manager for Sodexho, said that, among other improvements, they have planned for a large cooler stocked daily with fresh fruits, salads and sandwiches prepared in the Auraria campus-catering kitchen on the first floor of the Tivoli.

"We met with Coke, Pepsi, Frito-Lay, and other vendors in our (convenience) stores to create a brand based around what we have already created with our stores," Finnegan said. "We based the needs on marketing research to see what college age students want."

Finnegan said that, while there was speculation that the current tenants, Songhee and Chuck Choi, might be able to remain in the space until the end of the spring semester, Sodexho plans on the Chois following the letter of their lease which ends their occupancy at the end of February, allowing Quick Zone to open by the second week of March.

"We truly do feel bad for the current vendor," Finnegan said. "But it was a fair process we went through with the school. They have the opportunity to move, we are not taking their business."

Meanwhile, the fate of the only coffee house on campus hangs in limbo, and another caf‚ isn't necessarily going to take its place.

"As far as interest, I have had a number of people inquire about coffee operations," Caldwell said. "But not really a coffee house, more like just a cart in the corner."