Time to make the coffee!

Brown and Brew, a favorite hangout for students, is not quite so relaxing when you're the one making sure that customers have their coffee cake and eat it, too. The Daily spoke to David Ford, Brown and Brew's manager, to see what goes on behind the scenes (or steam).



Daily: First things first: where are you from?

David Ford: I grew up in New York and then spent two years in the Philadelphia area. I have been in the Boston area since 1968, and I am eternally waiting for a Red Sox World Series!



Daily: How long have you worked as manager of Brown and Brew? How did you reach this point in your career?

DF: I've worked with dining services for fourteen years and as manager at Brown and Brew for two and a half years. I have a degree in marketing from Northeastern University and degrees in culinary arts and foodservice management from Johnson and Wales. I have been in the foodservice and hospitality business for over 20 years.



Daily: How does your day start?

DF: I typically arrive at 7:30 a.m. and immediately check the appearance of the operation. Our mornings can be hectic, as nine types of coffee are brewed and various pastry products, which are baked daily at our campus bakery, are arranged in our display case. Early in the day I meet with Barbara Dalessio and Marie Cheri to review quality and quantity of products and services. They start their day at Brown and Brew at 7 a.m. Barbara does most of the setting up, and Marie prepares all of our sandwiches.



Daily: What projects are you working on at the moment?

DF: Lately Marie and I have been developing new grilled chicken sandwich recipes. We have a central kitchen that grills our chicken daily, and we have been using combinations of some interesting ingredients such as fresh ginger, garlic, Thai chili sauce, scallions, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Another sandwich that we've tried has lime juice, jicama, garlic, jalapenos, olive oil, and cumin.



Daily: What is the rest of your day like?

DF: We have several rushes during the morning, so I help out with customers. Between those rushes we place orders for milk, produce, pastry, and other related products. We use Food Pro - Dining Services' food ordering system. I also review business issues from the day before. These include customer concerns and recording of sales figures.

During all these duties I need to be aware of our customers and to make sure fresh quality products and services are given to our customers and guests. If there is a need in these areas, everything is set aside and the faculty or staff member, student or campus guest is attended to right away. I guess you could say that a key quality of a Dining Service manager is flexibility!

The rest of the day is helping out with customers, receiving calls from food companies, attending to the payroll and banking responsibilities, reviewing policies with our student workers (who do a great job!) and communicating with various Tufts departments such as the purchasing, dining, and administration departments and student activities.



Daily: What is the strangest experience you've had on the job?

DF: A student came in one day [with money] and said, "This is for the Samantha juice that I stole yesterday." Another time, someone left a half gallon of Stop & Shop ice cream in our refrigerator.



Daily: What is the best part of your job?

DF: I like to interact with the customers and employees. I also enjoy research into new products that will excite customers, and finding a product that works.



Daily: What do you think of the various musicians that play at Brown and Brew? Do they enhance business?

DF: In general the music has been well received at the B & B. We work in conjunction with student activities, and they do the band research. I think music and other genres enhance customer satisfaction and sales. There is entertainment every Wednesday at 9 p.m.



Daily: What is your favorite type of drink?

DF: I enjoy a double skim cappuccino steamed with honey and garnished with cinnamon.



Daily: Do you get free coffee?

DF: Only to drink on the job. It's part of quality assurance!



Brown and Brew is open from eight a.m. to one a.m. Monday through Friday and from noon to one a.m. on holidays and weekends.