This September, Truman State approved an extension of Sodexo’s contract to 2021 to give Sodexo time to secure franchise rights and operate an entirely new Mainstreet Market, opening next August.
Work on the new Mainstreet Market will begin May 8, 2016, and is supposed to be completed by Aug. 1, 2016. The new Mainstreet Market will include Chick-fil-A and several Sodexo-based venues determined by popular student meal choices.
Sodexo General Manager Lora Cunningham says she and a committee of University officials talked about the idea of a new Mainstreet Market during a meal plan discussion about a year and a half ago. She says she started reaching out to various franchises after the University approved the idea, but said it still will take some time before the new Mainstreet Market can be built.
Cunningham says a few of the franchises, particularly Chick-fil-A, will take some time to reach a full agreement, but in the meantime, Sodexo contractors will come to Truman later this month to help complete layout designs, identify obstacles during construction, and propose a project budget.
Cunningham says Mainstreet Market needs the renovation because it will give students more food options and increase revenues for the University and Sodexo. She says it will be an opportunity to bring in more people from the Kirksville community and to take advantage of more energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable equipment for Mainstreet Market’s day-to-day operations. She says the August completion deadline will provide enough time for the franchises and Sodexo to train the workers how to use the new equipment properly, which she says will ensure the food is made at the highest quality possible.
Cunningham says the current contract will remain in effect until the new contract begins during spring 2016, but Sodexo will be required to follow very specific guidelines. She says there are not going to be many major changes to the new contract besides an increase in the amount of premium nights each semester, more monotony-breaker food items — such as fruit bars — outlined in the online menu, and Truman soda mugs compatible with soda machines in The Student Union Building will be given to every student with a meal plan.
For more information on the contract between Truman and Sodexo, read the story on Issuu.