New meal options increase SUB traffic

Every Wednesday, Wholly Habaneros is replaced with Bodacious Burgers or Wicked Wings on alternating weeks. Justin Dreslinski, Truman State University director of dining, says traffic at the Wholly Habaneros location doubles on Wednesdays compared to the average on other days.

Sodexo will continue to offer new meal options Wednesdays in Mainstreet Market which have been available since January 2018.

Bodacious Burgers and Wicked Wings are offered in place of Wholly Habaneros to meet students’ desires expressed in Sodexo customer surveys. The new options are available on alternate weeks.

Justin Dreslinski­, Truman State University director of dining, said the idea began during a car ride with Truman Sodexo Operations Manager John Stewart.

“We were talking about things that we could do different on campus … how do we offer more options without the added cost?” Dreslinski said.

Dreslinski said Wholly Habaneros typically serves 350 people on Wednesdays, but after introducing Bodacious Burgers and Wicked Wings, customers have more than doubled. He said the new options are allowing students and returning customers to reconsider previous meal choices and try something new.

“I don’t think you can go anywhere in town and get a half-pound burger on a Brioche bun with fries for $7.50, you just can’t do it,” Dreslinski said.

The new options and pricing are not only bringing Mainstreet customers back but are encouraging new customers to go out of their way to get these meals.  

Dreslinski said the main reason the wings and burgers were added was to bring something new and exciting to campus without the added cost of opening new retail space. Dreslinski also said he thinks the options will break up the monotony of everyday meals at Truman.

“It’s a continual improvement process, and we get that information from our students, and I’m open to suggestions for the fall,” Dreslinski said.