Chick-fil-A Will Occupy Science Center Cafeteria

Students without a taste for dining hall food will soon be able to indulge in Chick-fil-A sandwiches and College Pump Water, the latest culinary additions to the Greenhouse Cafe in the Science Center.

"Chick-fil-A is a moist and flavorful grilled chicken product that is marinated for 24 hours," Michael P. Berry, director of Harvard Dining Services, said in an interview last week.

Dining Services paid $10,000 to the national fast-food chicken chain Chick-fil-A for a license to sell its trademark sandwich and its other products, such as Caesar salad, fresh squeezed lemonade and chicken nuggets, Berry said.

To make way for the Chick-fil-A counter in the Greenhouse Cafe, the grill which currently serves hamburgers and cheeseburgers will be eliminated, Berry said.

"The pizza and salad bar is staying but the grill area was not doing so much business so we decided to try a new food concept," Berry said. "We wanted something that was fast, inexpensive andstudents would like--and chickwich is the numberone item on the house menus," he said.

The renovation, scheduled to begin afterCommencement and end before the start of summerschool, will cost Harvard about $100,000, Berrysaid.

While the initial start-up and licensing costsof the Chick-fil-A counter may be high, Berry saidhe expects $350,000 in revenue from the first yearof sales.

Dining Services has been negotiating theChick-fil-A contract for six months, Berry said.Last month, Berry, the building director of theScience Center and two others flew to Atlanta tosample a Chick-fil-A sandwich, he said.

Berry pointed to the popularity of Chick-fil-Afranchises at other colleges, including Emory, theUniversity of Texas, the University of NorthCarolina and the University of California at LosAngeles. "We spoke to some students and the onesfrom the South knew of Chick-fil-A and loved it,"he said.

Restaurants operated by Dining Services willalso feature College Pump Water, Harvard's new"designer" bottled water, Berry said.

College Pump Water, bottled for the College bya company in upstate New York, will be includedwith Commencement lunches, Berry said.

Berry said Dining Services hopes to tap intothe bottled water fad on campus. "We hope CollegePump Water becomes an `in' item because bottledwater is popular on campus and we think that onewith our logo on it will hit the market right," hesaid.

A Chick-fil-A sandwich will sell for a littleover two dollars and the College Pump water willretail for 95 cents, Berry said

The renovation, scheduled to begin afterCommencement and end before the start of summerschool, will cost Harvard about $100,000, Berrysaid.

While the initial start-up and licensing costsof the Chick-fil-A counter may be high, Berry saidhe expects $350,000 in revenue from the first yearof sales.

Dining Services has been negotiating theChick-fil-A contract for six months, Berry said.Last month, Berry, the building director of theScience Center and two others flew to Atlanta tosample a Chick-fil-A sandwich, he said.

Berry pointed to the popularity of Chick-fil-Afranchises at other colleges, including Emory, theUniversity of Texas, the University of NorthCarolina and the University of California at LosAngeles. "We spoke to some students and the onesfrom the South knew of Chick-fil-A and loved it,"he said.

Restaurants operated by Dining Services willalso feature College Pump Water, Harvard's new"designer" bottled water, Berry said.

College Pump Water, bottled for the College bya company in upstate New York, will be includedwith Commencement lunches, Berry said.

Berry said Dining Services hopes to tap intothe bottled water fad on campus. "We hope CollegePump Water becomes an `in' item because bottledwater is popular on campus and we think that onewith our logo on it will hit the market right," hesaid.

A Chick-fil-A sandwich will sell for a littleover two dollars and the College Pump water willretail for 95 cents, Berry said