A: We run five restaurants across the university's four campuses in Edinburgh. We have two 200-seat restaurants, Apex and Triangle, at Merchiston Campus, a 250-seat restaurant at Craighouse, a 200-seat one at Sighthill Campus and an 80-seat restaurant at Comley Bank. They cater for 12,000 students and 1,500 staff.
Q: What's changed recently?
A: Last year the Triangle restaurant was refurbished, and Apex only opened in mid October — it used to be a disgusting student smoking room and now it's a gorgeous light restaurant with a mezzanine level and roof-top terrace. Triangle has a colourful, happening feel and students go there for baguettes or a bowl of home-made soup. We've also introduced a computerised stock and electronic point of sale system. By looking at the system, I can find out how many cups of coffee or sandwiches we're selling in any outlet.
Q: So how many sandwiches are you selling?
A: Between Triangle and Apex alone we serve 900 sandwiches a day — that takes 90 loaves of bread to make. And we sell a similar number of baguettes. At Triangle we bake our own baguettes.
Q: What's the top-selling student dish?
A: Chips. We could never stop selling them. Students pay 70p a portion for them and can't seem to eat enough.
Q: What about favourite drinks and puds?
A: The students aren't pudding mad, but they've recently gone crazy over Ribena, maybe due to some advertising campaign.
Q: Any specials?
A: We do ten special days over the year. We've just done a Moroccan food day at Triangle.
Q: Do students and staff pay the same for their food?
A: No, staff have to pay VAT on top of what students pay. And visitors pay 10 per cent more again, so there are three pricing bands.
Q: Is this an in-house operation?
A: Yes - and we're really proud of that. The catering operation isn't subsidised at all and we have to run at a profit, which is why we're always innovating. Annual turnover is £1.3m.
Source
The Facilities Business