Students can now spend up to $50 of their meal plans at either the Grind, the Tavern or split it between the two.
$50 may not seem like much, but the new program, called “Flex-A-Bull,” is only in its infancy.
“This is a pilot program this semester to see if we can do this,” said Steve Bettner, director of business services. “We also want to make sure it’s viable for the Tavern and the Grind. They’ve been very good partners so far and they’re going to have to see it’s not hurting their business, but helping it.
Both businesses have a core clientele apart from students.
“What happens if, all of a sudden, the Tavern has 400 students come in they didn’t anticipate? It could drive off all the other business they’ve had,” Bettner said. “That’s why we went with $50 this semester, to ease into this and make sure we didn’t flood their market. We want to maintain their atmosphere but also provide more services and variety to the students who have a meal plan.”
And since the spring semester serves as a test-run, there is no increase or charge to students’ meal plan accounts.
“The typical meal plans are still in effect – the Green, Gold and Gold Plus – they’re at the same dollar values they were at before,” Bettner said. “We allocated $50 off of each meal plan; it came right off the top, so there’s no additional fees.”
USF St. Petersburg started to offer meal plans four years ago, but the growing student population has brought a demand for more dining options. The location and popularity of the Tavern and Grind made the decision to include them an easy one.
“It gives students more options,” said Jim Kensinger, a long-time Tavern employee. “With the close proximity of the Tavern, it only makes sense to include it.”
For the restaurant’s owner, Tom Herzhauser, it’s about seeing new faces.
“I want new kids on campus to be able to experience life at the Tavern,” he said.
And for a restaurant that won Creative Loafing’s Best of the Bay “College Hangout” award in 2013 and 2014, the addition makes sense.
Besides the need for a spot to hang out with friends over grouper sandwiches and philly cheese steaks, a convenient place to guzzle down coffee during study sessions is equally important.
That’s where the Grind comes in.
“I’m really happy about the new program. We’re excited about being able to serve USFSP students in this new way,” said Jacob Hunt, manager at the Grind. “I graduated in 2013 from USFSP, so the students here mean a lot – to all of us.”
If the program is successful this semester, it will be available as an add-on in the summer and fall. The initial offer is estimated around $100, though students will likely be able to increase the amount if they run out.
“We will (still) have the meal plan, but students will be able to buy,” Bettner said. “You can still get SharkBites, which exist today, but I see, long-term, this taking over SharkBites.”
SharkBites work a lot like gift cards – the purchase allows you to receive discounts you wouldn’t have when paying directly.
There aren’t discounts for Flex-A-Bull, yet.
Bettner said he would rather leave that up to the business owners and let the market decide where students go.
“It will be up to them if they want to offer 10 percent discounts, 15 percent, whatever it is,” he said. “We’re going to let the vendors offer those discounts. I didn’t want to mandate what private businesses do.”
Though Bettner said he didn’t want to over-promise anything because of the multiple variables that need to be met and put into place first, he sees Flex-A-Bull, and the overall USFSP meal plans, expanding.
“During this semester, I hope to also bring in Starbucks over at Barnes & Noble and all of our Coke machines. That’s my short-term goal,” he said. “Long-term, the sky’s the limit. It could be the Hangar, or anything within walking distance that’s reasonable.
