PASS THE TEXTBOOKS AND THE FRIES

Pass the textbooks and the fries. Southeast Missouri State University wants to offer students name-brand fast food on campus as part of a new food service contract that's being worked out.

Everything from McDonald's to Pizza Hut is being considered, school officials and food service vendors say. The list also includes Chick-Fil-A, Taco Bell, Burger King and Baskin-Robbins, among others.

School officials, vendors and students are excited about the prospect. But to John Mehner, president of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, the whole idea raises a red flag.

He said that he and other chamber members are concerned about the impact such a move would have on local restaurants, including fast-food places like Burger King, McDonald's and Pizza Hut.

Mehner said that the chamber tries to look out for the best interests of the local business community and, for that reason, it's concerned about the matter.

Nationwide, name-brand food outlets are on many college campuses.

"I understand the university wanting to be able to offer services that put it on the same level with other universities, but I also think the university has to understand where it is and the predominate support it gets from the surrounding area, and that is a tough thing to balance," Mehner said.

To many businessmen, the issue boils down to a government entity getting involved in a private business, he said. There's a concern that a tax-supported institution has an unfair advantage in competing with private business, he said.

Chamber officials have previously complained when out-of-town merchants have been allowed to come on campus and set up shop for a day or two to sell their wares.

Mehner said that chamber officials previously have discussed with university President Kala Stroup the whole issue of the university "getting into the retail business."

He said the issue likely will be discussed at the chamber board meeting Tuesday.

Rodger Chisman, special assistant to the vice president of student affairs at Southeast, insisted that the school "will be very sensitive to our local market.

"We certainly have made no decisions and we want to take everything into consideration."

The university, said Chisman, is reshaping its food service operation to meet the needs of students.

"This is a good result of listening to the students," he said. Students, he said, have complained about the quality of the current food service and "the way it was being presented."

Students, he said, complained that there was a lack of variety in the food being offered on campus. Said Chisman, "They really wanted improvements."

In an effort to do that, Southeast recently sought bids for a new food service operation. Five bids were received by the March 18 deadline and are now being evaluated, said Chisman.

A decision is expected by mid-April, he said. Once a company is chosen, the vendor will finalize arrangements regarding brand-name food.

At this point, the bidders are "recommending a list of branded foods that their companies represent or have negotiations with," explained Chisman.

Bids were received from ARA, AmeriServe, Marriott, Morrison's Hospitality Group and ServiceMaster.

ServiceMaster has operated the food service at Southeast since 1986. The company bought American Food Management, which had operated Southeast's food service dating back to 1980.

Chisman said the new contract, which will be for one year with four one-year renewal options, requires the successful bidder to provide brand-name foods as part of the campus food service operation. In addition, the vendor must make $400,000 worth of capital improvements over a two-year period.

The intent, said Chisman, is to upgrade some of the physical layout of the campus cafeterias. The improvements could include some new food service equipment.

The brand-name foods would be offered in addition to the food service provided in the residence halls, he said. The "branded foods" could include a vendor's own special brand.

But Chisman said the university is primarily interested in the "big name" food outlets like McDonald's and Burger King.

He said it's his understanding that in such an arrangement the vendor operates the outlet rather than subcontracting it to another party.

No decisions have been made as to where the brand-name restaurants would be located, but Chisman said it's anticipated that most of them would be located in the University Center where they could draw both students and the general public as customers.

"This is something that has been done across the United States at many, many schools. This is not a new concept," said Chisman.

"Students are hungry for good food," said student leader Jeff Davis. "They would rather be eating greasy hamburgers and French fries than some of the things that are in the cafeterias."

John Reid, regional sales manager for Marriott in Alma, Mich., said his company's 150-page proposal includes turning the residence hall dining areas into food courts.

Marriott operates food services at more than 440 colleges and universities nationwide.

Reid said there's a trend on college campuses to provide national brand foods.

That view was echoed by Terry Van Booven, St. Louis-based area manager for ServiceMaster. The company operates about 160 food services on college campuses nationwide.

"That (branded foods) is the wave of the future," he said. "We support Southeast Missouri State University 100 percent in their push to offer the students a better service."

Bernie Lensmayer, vice president of Columbia, Mo.-based AmeriServe, said his new company -- founded in January by the same people who originally ran American Food Management -- would work with the local business community. He said it's impractical to "step on the toes of the local businessman or local franchisee."

"You need to have the support of the local business community or it is not going to work," said Lensmayer.