Chartwells is New Food Service Provider at SMSU
Published Friday, July 15, 2016
Chartwells is the new food service provider at Southwest Minnesota State University.
Chartwells was awarded the contract following a competitive bidding process. ARAMARK was the long-time food service provider prior to Chartwells, which took over on July 1.
Tom Hemmy is the Director of Food Service for Chartwells at SMSU, and he wants to provide more options and make dining a positive experience for the students and others.
“Food is life,” he said. “We want to give students more choices, with longer hours, and make it the best experience we can. We want to touch a few lives, and educate students as far as eating and living wisely,” he said.
Just as Chartwells is new to SMSU, so, too, is Hemmy new to Chartwells. He joined the company on June 13, and has 40 years of food service experience. “It started when I was in college at Wisconsin-Stevens Point,” he said. “I got my degree in business administration, and worked for the food service provider there as a student. I’ve been doing it ever since.”
The company had originally planned on a number of physical changes to the dining areas, but some paperwork issues have pushed those plans back to next summer. “We’ll have some cosmetic changes — lighting fixtures, paint — but our larger renovations will be next summer,” he explained.
Chartwells was awarded a five-year contract, with an option for a second five years if both parties are happy with the way things are going.
He plans on expanding the hours that food is served, as well as improving the meal plan options, and the food offerings in general. “We hope to make improvements in the menu, the quality, and increased serving times,” he said.
The serving locations will remain the same, he said, including the coffee shop, Residential Restaurant, food court and Mustang Express.
“The trend is more fresh and healthy offerings,” he said. “We’ll still do the pizza or burgers (in the food court), but we’ll also have a pasta station, where students can order pasta bowls. They can order their vegetables, protein, pasta and sauce and it will be made right in front of them.”
He said, too, that a fresh fruit and yogurt bar will be offered every day for food service meal plan customers, something new. “Last year, of the 700 on meal plans, about 500 were on the 10-meal plan (per week),” he said. “You should be eating three meals per day, but we know that’s not always the case. I’d like to see that number increase in the future, and the way to do that is to improve the quality.”
Hemmy and his wife, Jill, have a grown daughter, Sarah.
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