On the verge of closure since last spring, the Boston Avenue branch of Boloco has seen a much-needed revenue boost in the past six weeks. According to store manager Claudio Fonseca, sales were up an average of 15 to 16 percent for the month of October compared to last year.
Boloco, one of the eight local restaurants on Tufts' Merchant Off-Campus Partners (MOPs) program, was experiencing such slow sales last April that marketing manager Sam Chud called the store's closure "imminent."
The sales increase does not mean that the store's future is secure, but it is less likely that managers will jump at the first offer to buy. "It's not like someone would make any offer and we'd take it," Chud said. "We see no reason to stop now."
When students returned to campus in September, the branch remained open, but Chud told the Daily at the time that the store's property was on the market. Though the restaurant remained unprofitable and was losing money, managers were reluctant to close the branch.
To Chud and everyone at Boloco, the recent sales have been encouraging. "This month has been a pleasant surprise," Chud said.
Staying in business will offer the management team time to determine what has been behind the boost in sales. "We've been doing so many different things, and we need to figure out exactly what's working and what's not working," Chud said.
Chud said the reason for the increase in sales is difficult to pinpoint and can be attributed to a number of factors.
The company has been testing a number of new marketing techniques since the beginning of the semester, such as introducing new "mini" and "extra-large" burrito sizes and offering free burritos at student events like freshman orientation.
Of all the changes, however, Chud speculated that the store's improved delivery system, including more reliable drivers and faster service, has had the greatest impact. He said the branch has seen higher than the average number of online orders since the beginning of the semester.
"We've actually heard positive reviews lately about the effectiveness and consistency of our delivery," he said.
Boloco's induction into the MOPs system required it to implement a delivery system, not a part of Boloco's standard business model, according to Chud.
Chud said in September that the delivery element of MOPs was not helping business, and instead put Boloco "out of its element" because their food is meant to be eaten "right off the line."
Now, the restaurant's managers are increasingly seeing that delivery does offer something beneficial to the store, allowing it to expand Boloco's reach across the Tufts neighborhood.
"The reason we should keep [delivery] is because of its appeal to the other side of the market," Chud said. "Over time, we've been able to build up a pretty strong base of delivery customers."
Boloco's revamped online ordering system may be the reason for the delivery system's success.
Alan Bernstein, a sophomore who said he orders Boloco at least twice a week, observed that the improved online system has made ordering burritos for delivery much more convenient. "It takes about five minutes to set it up [initially], but after that ordering takes less than 30 seconds."
Bernstein did not think a change in food taste or quality was behind the sales increase. "It's the same good Boloco," he said.
The store also changed managers over the summer to Fonseca, who previously managed a higher-volume Boloco location in Boston. Chud said the swap contributed to the recent upswing.
"Claudio is doing his own outreach," he said. "He's obviously been able to establish some good relationships, and he's really ambitious and eager to grow with the business."
Still, the restaurant remains for sale, and profits are below target figures despite the profit boost, Chud said.
"The bottom line hasn't moved," Chud said. "We're still in a hole and trying to get out of it."
Chud continues to work with juniors Jared Glick and Danny Moll to market Boloco to the Tufts community. "They've definitely helped us get a clearer picture of the campus by putting us in touch with the right people and steering us toward the right events," Chud said.
Fonseca said the next step for the branch is marketing to the non-Tufts community that it serves.
"We are trying to reach out by going into Medford city and getting the locals so that we can keep going once the kids are on vacation," he said. He estimated that Boloco currently sees around 20 percent of its sales from the MOPs program, and the rest in cash or credit.
