After a decline in business, Syracuse University officials are considering shutting down Kimmel Food Court, though no timeline has been set.

Although students are still using the late-night dining center frequently on weekend nights, there has been a visible drop in the number of weekday customers during the last five to six years, said Jamie Cyr, director of auxiliary services at SU.

“We’re always evaluating our businesses, it’s all about delivering services to our students,” he said. “If the students aren’t using the facility, then something’s not right with the facility.”

Ernie Davis Dining Center, which opened in 2010 and offers late night hours until 9 p.m., has played a role in the lack of customers at Kimmel, Cyr said.

He also cited the Kimmel’s age and maintenance costs as another reason, saying that the costs to improve the building’s infrastructure are a part of the consideration to close the food court.

Cyr said that although there is no estimated closing date, Kimmel’s closing would not occur unless a late-night dining option on campus was available for students. He said the new venue would have to be comparable to Kimmel’s current standards, or an improvement.

“I think we want a venue that offers variety to the students and in a place students want to use,” he said.

One of the potential replacements in consideration, he said, is the food court in Schine Student Center. But Cyr added the Schine food court is also too small, and they are waiting on the new bookstore location to open and free up space before making any decision for the dining area to expand.

Part of the decision to expand the Schine food court as a replacement to Kimmel is dependent on the Schine Renovation Feasibility Study, to see what students want, Cyr said.

Students eating at Kimmel said they disagreed with the idea, but were also not surprised with the school’s considerations to close the dining center.

“It’s kind of disappointing, it’s convenient here,” said Jack Delaney, a senior economics major. “If you ask me, it went downhill after Taco Bell left.”

SU Food Services created the venues Trios and Quesos, which replaced Burger King and Taco Bell, respectively, in 2012.

Cyr denied the departure of Burger King and Taco Bell as the main cause of the food court’s customer decline, but said it could be a “contributing factor.”

Jesse Campbell, a senior art history major, said he disagreed, saying chain restaurants were Kimmel’s main attraction and them leaving are big reason for its lack of customers.

“With the Burger King and the Taco Bell leaving, it was really unpopular after that. The general opinion of Kimmel has gone down after that,” Campbell said. “If they added a popular chain, that would help business. If there was a McDonald’s here, people would come to Kimmel.”

Cyr added in the event of Kimmel’s closure, the transition to a new late-night dining option would be seamless, with the new venue opening immediately after Kimmel’s departure.

Published on September 9, 2013 at 1:00 am

Contact Alfred: alng@syr.edu

@alfredwkng