Golden Light will be added to the Merchants on Points (MOPs) program pending a meeting between Director of Dining Services Patti Lee Klos and the Davis Square eatery, according to sources close to the negotiation.
At a meeting with members of the Senate services committee Wednesday, Lee Klos said the University is still deciding between Golden Light and Rose's, both Chinese food restaurants. But Senate Services committee chair Ed Schwehm said that Golden Light will now be given the choice to accept a MOPs contract.
"Patti Lee Klos is meeting with Golden Light and showing them the contract. If they accept, then they will be the new MOPs vendor," Schwehm said last night.
In an 857-student survey conducted last month by Dining Services, students voted overwhelmingly in favor of Rose's over five other restaurants interested in joining MOPs, which allows students to use points and dining dollars to purchase fast food on delivery.
Rose's received 289 votes, while Golden Light came in second, with 106 votes.
While Tufts first approached the survey's winner, Schwehm said Rose's
would not extend its hours past its 11 p.m. closing time. Since the MOPs program takes effect at 7 p.m. each night, students would be left with only four hours to place orders at the restaurant. Golden Light, however, stays open until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 2:45 a.m. on weekends.
Services committee member Josh Belkin said that hours of operation were an important consideration. "Students are going to kick themselves if they find out they can only order until 11," he said.
The restaurants' hours were not included on the survey.
The University began seeking a new vendor after Urban Gourmet decided not to renew its three-year MOPs contract this summer because of infrequent payments from Tufts as a source of strain. The Near East Caf?©, Espresso's Pizza, and Wing Works are the program's other participants.
Students are impatient for the fourth vendor, according to Belkin. He fielded many questions about the topic during an open forum with senators in Dewick-MacPhie Dining Hall on Tuesday.
"At this point a lot of people I know are getting frustrated that we still don't have a vendor," Belkin said.
Klos said she would like to have a vendor contracted within the next few weeks, not only to satisfy student demands but also for the sake of the new restaurant. She said that Tufts-generated business would decrease greatly during winter break, giving the new vendor time to get comfortable with the program before students return in January.
"It's a big business step," Schwehm said. Dining Services charges a 15 percent commission on all MOPS purchases and the restaurants are only reimbursed once or twice a month.
