Prices Rise at HDS Eateries

Maybe it's that paper. Or that exam. For whatever reason, the recent price increases of two items at the Greenhouse Cafe, Loker Commons and Cronkite Graduate Dining Hall have barely registered on the student consciousness.

About two weeks ago, the price of a 20-ounce bottle of soda rose from $1.25 to $1.50. Last week, the price of a large 12-piece sushi box rose from $5.95 to $6.45.

David P. Davidson, the director for campus restaurants, said that Harvard Dining Services (HDS) had decided to raise prices on the two items because they had not been contributing to the gross profit margins.

"At the beginning of each year, we review each item we're selling to make sure that contributes to the bottom line of profit." Davidson said. "In doing the review, sushi was one of the items we thought we had to raise the price. Same goes for the bottles of soda."

Davidson hastened to add, however, that for the sushi, the students are still getting a bargain.

"Our sushi is still below market price," he said. "For instance, at Star Market, the sushi price is $7.50."

Davidson said that students did have the choice of buying soda from the fountain, for which HDS gets price breaks. At the fountain at the Greenhouse, for instance, a small soda from the fountain costs 79 cents, a medium soda 89 cents, a large soda 99 cents and an extra large $1.25.

However, Davidson said that since the University only runs three campus restaurants, it was difficult to get price breaks from distributors.

"We can't do volume purchasing," he said. "For instance, Store 24 is a chain store, and they buy huge amounts of Coke nationally. So they can have special contracts with Coca-Cola to buy items for much cheaper prices, which then allow them to sell these items much more cheaply."

A 20-ounce bottle of soda sells for 99 cents at Store 24. At CVS on JFK Street, the soda sells for 95 cents.

On the other hand, other small businesses around Harvard Square did not seem to have the same volume-purchasing problems that HDS has. For instance, at Leo's Place on JFK Street, the same bottled soda costs $1.

"You buy them at bargains, at sales," said Rich Bezjian, co-owner of the cafe. "We don't always buy from Coca-Cola. Different warehouses have different prices."

Soda sells for 95 cents at E.R. Sage and Company, the upscale Church Street grocery store.

"We're not that big a business," said Ken McIntyre, the manager of Sage's. "We have 5 or 6 stores, and buy directly from Coca-Cola."

As for sushi, the maki roll box at Ma Soba sells for $4.50. The special combination box sells for $5.95.

At the Harvard campus restaurants, however, the students seemed to have more on their minds than the price hikes.

"I didn't notice," said Trent Taylor, a third-year law student, who was drinking a bottle of Diet Coke in the Green-house. "But $1.50 is pretty expensive. I know you can get a liter of this Coke for the same price."

"Really?" asked Amahl A. Bishara '98, choosing her dinner at Loker. "It definitely makes me want to buy something else. Maybe I'll get a baguette."

She ultimately opted for the small sushi box, priced at $4.45.

Other students simply chose not to buy bottled soda or sushi.

"It's either unfair or inefficient," said Ted Miguel, a graduate student in economics, studying in the Greenhouse. "I don't know which."

"It's bad," agreed Miguel's study partner, Justin Wolfers. "A Coke is like 65 cents elsewhere."

Both students said they had never bought bottled soda or sushi at campus restaurants.

According to Davidson, bottled soda and sushi were not sizable sources of profit for the campus restaurants.

"We only started selling the bottle soda and the sushi from about last spring," Davidson said. "Sushi bars are opening up, so we thought it might be trendy for us to offer sushi, too. It's mostly for the variety. As for the bottled soda, that's mostly a convenience item."

Davidson admitted that the bottled soda was not showing great profit.

"We serve approximately 3,500 customers a day at the Greenhouse," he said.

"So an average of 40 boxes of sushi and 240 bottles of soda sold daily isn't very much in the larger picture."

At the same time, Davidson said he was happy with the amount of soda and sushi sold.

"I'm pretty satisfied," he said. "And there have been no changes in the amount sold since the price hikes."