New additions to MOPS

Andrea's House of Pizza and Pasta Pisa/Caf?© de Crepe, both restaurants on Boston Ave., are slated to be added to Dining Services' Merchants On Points System (MOPS) next semester, Dining Services Director Patti Lee Klos announced on Friday.

Neither restaurant has been officially confirmed, but Klos is making efforts to get the program started. Klos said she was unable to speak to the owner of Pasta Pisa last week directly, but that "Andrea's is very interested." Pasta Pisa and Caf?© de Crepe share an owner, and operate as one business.

Toufik, a co-owner of Pasta Pisa/Cafe de Crepe told the Daily that MOPS had previously seemed out of reach to him. "The only thing I know is that we've been here for seven years, we applied the first or second year we opened, and after that [we heard] nothing," he said. He added that he would "definitely" be interested in joining and that he would be able to handle the increased number of orders that he may receive if added to MOPS.

Andrea's owner Bob Iliopoulos circulated a petition earlier this year which he used to support his effort to join MOPS. "He assured me that he'll be prepared," said Klos. "I have no reservations at all."

The TCU Senate spearheaded the drive to add more merchants to MOPS, and sent out a survey earlier in the year asking students to choose the restaurant they would most like to see added. The two highest vote-getters were Pasta Pisa/Cafe de Crepe and Tasty Gourmet, according to TCU Historian Jeffrey Katzin.

Tasty Gourmet is not slated to be added to MOPS because, according to Klos, her sources said they were not interested in being added. However, the owner and a manager of Tasty Gourmet both told the Daily that they were unfamiliar with the details of MOPS and had not been told that a survey listed them as one of the most favorable additions to the program.

Though Klos had said earlier that she would like to see more variety in the food served by merchants on points, Andrea's serves Italian food and chicken, while Pasta Pisa serves Italian food as well as crepes. Both restaurants' menus overlap with Espresso's and Pizzeria Roma, and Andrea's also overlaps with Wing Works.

Klos said adding a greater variety of food was unfeasible at this time. "There were others that were thought to be popular, but may not be as viable," she said, citing Redbones as an example of a popular restaurant which serves barbecue but had no interest in joining MOPS.

Klos also said Dining Services is limited in the number of restaurants they could add due to procedure and practicality. "It's a large demand for four venues," she said. "The limitations have been our own capacity to handle the volume."

She stressed that she didn't want to spread out the demand for food across too many restaurants. "The current restaurants may experience some changes," she said, but she thought that the amount of business would be enough to sustain the restaurants that are already on MOPS. "I wouldn't want to double it and try to support eight restaurants," she said.