Devra Charney-The Silhouette

Winter at Mac just got a little bit sweeter. On Feb. 1, a new location of Yogurty’s opened its doors on Main St W. The new storefront of the frozen yogurt shop is the second of its kind in Hamilton.

“We’re having our grand opening around the end of March,” explained owner and manager Lane Dowhanihuk shortly after the doors opened on Feb. 1. “This is our soft opening.”

“We weren’t sure if we’d be open this morning and it turned out to be 5 p.m., or late this afternoon, so tonight hopefully it’ll be busy because a lot of people have been popping in, and we said Friday’s the day,” she said.

Indeed it got busier as news spread via Facebook and Twitter, with Yogurty’s updating its Twitter page before announcing the opening on its official website.

“I think we have a premium product here. In my opinion, Yogurty’s is a little better than the competitors, which is why we chose to open this franchise,” Dowhanihuk said in response to being compared with Westdale’s TCBY. “Our fruits are cut every day fresh, and [we offer] tons and tons of toppings. Our sauces are in warmers, so it’s nice, warm sauce instead of just cold.”

Customers certainly seem to agree. Katija Bonin, a second year Arts & Science student, was among the first 10 customers at the new location. “I get a good vibe from this place,” she said. “I’d come here more often for sure.”

Dowhanihuk explained that students are a main focus for this franchise. “We are hoping, with the university, the junior high and the international college … to get everybody in here,” Dowhanihuk said. “We have actually hired a few people that are attending Mac, and we’re just kind of waiting to see how busy it is before we hire more.”

Flavours currently offered at the self-serve yogurt bar include Birthday Cake, Red Velvet, Peanut Butter, Crispy Wafer, Mangolicious Sorbet, Super Fruit, Tart, Strawberry, Vanilla and Chocolate Truffle Explosion. With over 80 flavours listed on their website, though, selection changes on a rotating basis.

In terms of future franchising in the area, there is “nothing on the list right now for Hamilton.” But Dowhanihuk revealed “Waterloo is our next one, which will be in April.”

Foot traffic expected to increase significantly in already limited space

In mid-winter when there is a load of work and a lack of sunlight, students can always use a little vitamin boost. And come January, they’ll have the opportunity to get this from smoothies when a new location of Booster Juice is slated to come to the McMaster University Student Centre.

After the closing of Scoops, a smoothie and ice cream vendor that occupied a small kiosk next to Tim Hortons, McMaster Hospitality Services (MHS) explored different options for new businesses for the space. The deal between MHS and Booster Juice was announced in December of last year.

Lori Diamond, Director of MUSC, noted that students are happy with the deal.

“Feedback from students … was overwhelmingly positive when our proposal came forward,” she said.

Despite the anticipation from students and administrators, there has been no noticeable progress on a storefront in the student centre. And at this point, the construction details are still unclear.

“Nothing is confirmed,” explained Albert Ng, Director of MHS. The University held a meeting with the contractor and construction project team on Nov. 19 in order to work out these details, but Ng emphasized the fact that no strict timeline had been set.

“Three groups are trying to establish what would be a conservable and doable schedule,” he said, noting that the coordination between these groups was not always easy. MHS has some control over the construction, as the electrical work is run through McMaster, but the equipment for the store comes from Booster Juice, and the contractor is from an external company.

“From my understanding, most of the kiosk itself is constructed off-site, then put in place and hooked up with electrical, plumbing and equipment,” Diamond explained.

MUSC administration said that the proposal suggested construction would start the week of Nov. 26, with the opening scheduled for Jan. 2. And despite the lack of confirmation for the plans, Ng said, “we’re still hopeful that we can get it done for the New Year.”

The kiosk will occupy the same place as the previous smoothie bar, though it “will have a larger footprint.” The choice of location has raised some concerns about traffic flow and available space in the student centre, which is already often overcrowded. And MUSC, which replaced Hamilton Hall as the student centre when it opened in 2002, was built at a time when the student population was approximately 14,000 full-time students.

Diamond noted, “we did … consider [the impact on space], as did Hospitality Services in bringing forward the proposal.”

She said that the addition of the kiosk would not require a removal of seating, but that the existing food court area will be reconfigured to accommodate it.

MUSC added 48 seats to the area last year in order to accommodate the “rising demand,” but during the day the space is almost always full.

And the new storefront could pose more of a problem than rearranged seating; like the Tim Horton’s, Booster Juice will have to have a lineup for its customers.

Diamond claimed that “it will be configured to corral the line-up away from the main traffic corridor.”

But it remains to be seen whether the convenience of campus smoothies will come at the cost of a busier student centre.

Before the plan for a campus location, the nearest Booster Juice was a few minutes from campus, located at Main Street and Thorndale. It has since been closed.

Booster Juice was unavailable for comment on whether or not this is related to McMaster’s new store.

Their bird of paradise logo is plastered all over campus catering and food providers.

It has been implicitly understood for years among students that any and all events held on campus cannot be catered by any company other than Paradise Catering.

The MSU began looking into what specific agreements obligated students to use Paradise Catering, and how exactly Paradise had positioned itself as the sole provider of catered food on campus.

Jeff Wyngaarden, MSU VP Finance, has devoted the last several months to researching the issue. He found that the contract between MSU and Hospitality services had not been revised since 1999 and consequently was rife with outdated references and ambiguous language.

Specifically, the contract applies to any MSU-affiliated activities held in the Student Centre, with the exception of the student-owned bar and convenience store.

Wyngaarden pointed out that the contract uses vague language to define the differences between “catering” and “potluck” when it comes to student events. It remains unclear how to determine what type of event requires catering versus what type of event can use a potluck.

For student groups and clubs, this difference can be crucial. Prohibitive food costs often force student clubs to forgo holding events or simply to limit the scale of their events.

Albert Ng, Director of Hospitality Services, recently gave a statement to the MSU regarding a new policy that will waive the 15 per cent service charge for MSU Clubs and Associations. This is a policy is a result of recent talks between the MSU and Hospitality Services, but had already been enjoyed by internal University departments.

However, under an MSU/Paradise Catering agreement, there appears to be room to maneuver for small-scale student events that can be considered potlucks.

This would appear to be good news for student groups, although students shouldn’t expect any great clarification to come from the revision of the MUSC hospitality agreement.

“We [have been told] we will not be given a numerical measure. We are supposed to use “common sense” [to determine what qualifies as a potluck]. The way it’s managed now is that Hospitality and someone in the University makes a judgment call about whether someone is violating the policy,” said Wyngaarden.

The contract also contains outdated references to the Downstairs John, the former student-run campus bar.

Wyngaarden has pledged to challenge some of the conditions of the Hospitality agreement in the coming months. However, he noted that the University and Hospitality Services have a powerful bargaining chip in the negotiations, which could hinder any drastic changes from being made to the revised agreement.

“The MSU is not paying occupancy costs for a lot of its space in MUSC. That occupancy cost is covered by the University … and a large portion is paid for Hospitality Services (or profits derived from Hospitality Services),” Wyngaarden explained.

“Any pressure we apply to try and lower the cost of food on campus or try and avoid using Paradise Catering…[doesn’t work because] they always have the trump card…[of] ‘how are we going to continue to pay for you in this building.’”

The origin of the campus-wide exclusivity understanding was uncovered in a different document, separate from the MUSC-specific agreement.

The Board of Governor’s “Policy on the Use of University Facilities for Non-Academic Purposes” (PUUFNAP) appears to contain several provisions that allude to the exclusivity agreement.

One clause states that Conference Services is responsible for student room bookings, and by extension, they would also refer the groups to other service departments (such as Hospitality) “as necessary.”

Another provision limits commercial activity, only allowing organizations operated by the University to sell services on campus. However, this provision only speaks to prohibiting sales of unapproved external companies on campus. But since the average student bringing outside food has most likely purchased the food off campus, this relevance of this clause becomes questionable.

Roger Couldrey, Vice-President Administration of McMaster, confirmed that the PUUFNAP document was “the right policy” to look at to understand the mandate Paradise Catering has to exclusively provide catering to McMaster.

The MSU aims to continue revising and renegotiating parts of the MUSC-specific contract, which may ease event restrictions for student groups using the Student Centre.

However, the blanket PUUFNAP agreement, which applies across the campus, is expected to remain largely unchanged.

Memory retention is a lot like water retention, save for the fact that you do not want your memory being expelled from your body anytime soon.

When studying, researching or attempting to scrounge the details of a hazy Friday night, it is always beneficial to have an effective memory and be able to recall details that may be helpful in completing a test or assignment or recollecting drunken festivities among other school-related activities.

If you are looking to improve your memory skills, here are a few ingredients to look for when grocery shopping that will help keep your mind running smoothly.

Flavonoids

Not only is this word fun to say, the flavonoid compound has been proven to improve memory, learning and general cognitive function, decision making, verbal comprehension and numerical ability. So, calculus and communications students alike, take note: foods rich in flavonoids can help retain vital information and up the ante of your presentations and pop quizzes.

Add to your grocery list: blueberries, apples, cabbage, tomatoes; (look for labels with Quercetin and Anthocyanins, two common types of flavonoids)

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Hearing the term “fatty acids” might turn you off from picking up an item with this ingredient, but Omega-3s are an essential part of human health and help with brain function and normal growth and development. When lacking in Omega-3s, common side effects include poor memory, fatigue, mood swings and depression. So keep up your levels of this fatty acid and reap the benefits of on the ball work habits. BONUS: it also helps reduce your risk of heart disease and inflammatory diseases such as arthritis.

Add to your grocery list: flax seeds, walnuts, salmon, tofu, shrimp and soy beans

B Vitamins

Vitamins B6, B9 and B12 have two things in common - they’re all divisible by three and they have all been noted to help improve memory and brain function. Vitamin B helps with the communication between the nervous system and the brain by forming and releasing neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters help with concentration, awareness and mental clarity.

Add to your grocery list: yogurt, almonds, potatoes, mushrooms and whole grain cereals

Kacper Niburksi

Assistant News Editor

 

Ever notice how, when you walk through the Student Centre (MUSC), something doesn’t feel quite right? No, it’s not the noxious, lingering smell of cheese pizza at every step. Nor is it the zoo of students bustling through its doors at any hour of the day.

Instead, it is much, much worse: there are cobwebs where there should be smoothies.

In September, the popular smoothie, ice cream and Jamaican patties vendor located beside Tim Horton’s in MUSC closed its doors. Under a sub-lease with McMaster Hospitality Services, the kiosk chose to terminate its agreement with McMaster last summer.

With students unaware, saddened and smoothie-less, the following months saw discussions in the McMaster community, specifically the McMaster Hospitality Services (MHS), and a variety of would-be franchise owners. Many showed interest, and numerous deals were offered, but among the lot, a smoothie magnate came out on top: Booster Juice.

First mentioned publically by MSU president Matthew Dillion-Leitch, an approved agreement between MHS and the Booster Juice franchise was reached in December of 2011.

Glenn Tucker, Director of International and Non-Traditional Development at Booster Juice, said that the chain had “long coveted such a store at McMaster.”

Perhaps due to Booster Juice’s commitment to providing healthy options, or maybe because of the exhilaration that comes with change, the student-run website, Macinsiders, was barraged with an array of sneers, cheers and jeers regarding the approval.

On the site’s discussion forum, the post obtained near to 4500 views and received 77 replies. Among the many – some of which were emphatic, others shadowed more so in cynicism – a common complaint seemed to underline the discussion: the price of smoothies. To a student operating on a three-penny and bellybutton lint monthly allowance, this grievance may certainly hold water. But like many of the vendors in MUSC, such as Pizza Pizza, who have offered concessions to better fit the student lifestyle, Booster Juice may too offer a price reduction – although this has neither been confirmed nor denied by either the MHS or Booster Juice itself.

Despite the excitement and consequent questions that the approval has caused, a binding agreement has yet to be signed between MHS and Booster Juice. This isn’t necessarily an uncommon practice. In most cases, the MHS buys the franchise license and then works out the details regarding the storefront itself.

In this case, however, since no signed agreement has been reached. Booster Juice has delayed all documents and potential design options to McMaster University, although some preliminary documentation was sent on Jan. 10.

As explained in the sent documents, the Booster Juice franchise will be in the same location as the smoothie bar in MUSC but “with a slightly larger footprint,” said Lori Diamond, Director of the MUSC. Considering that this is a clustered location that is nested nearby an already overwhelmingly packed Tim Horton’s and La Piazza, the line-ups for the franchise will extend into a corridor that will be created between the Booster Juice and Tim Horton kiosks. To do this, the construction is planned to begin in early February and extend to March if need be. Ideally, the Booster Juice kiosk is to be completed after Reading Week.

Diamond reminded, however, that details such as the size of operation, construction dates, and menu offerings are not concrete without a signed agreement. Tucker mirrored this sentiment: “Until a signed agreement is in place, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on specifics.”

Considering the numerous details that need to be addressed, there is still much that must be done before Booster Juice comes to McMaster. Questions need to be answered, deals need to be made, agreements need to be signed and construction needs to begin. In other words, the operation has yet to put the “smooth” in “smoothie”.