July 22, 2004
South Campus’ Portage Bay Galley to close
Portage Bay Galley, the dining facility in the South Campus Center, will close on Sept. 1, Housing and Food Services has announced. HFS Director Paul Brown said the galley, which serves an average of 500 customers on weekdays, has been operating at a financial loss.
“We made the difficult decision to close Portage Bay Galley only after a thorough analysis revealed that the potential for increasing business and strengthening our financial position was not likely,” Brown said.
Brown noted that the HFS culinary team had made “significant menu improvements” over the last several years, including introducing Oodles noodle bar and a made-to-order burrito and taco bar. “The concepts were well-received but sales volumes continued to decline as customers chose other, more convenient south campus dining locations,” he said, adding that the low volume at Portage Bay had been a problem for several years.
“Housing and Food Services is a self-sustaining unit, and we just couldn’t make this operation pencil out,” Brown said.
The kitchen at Portage Bay Galley will be used as a production kitchen for other venues after the restaurant’s closure. And the dining space will be used for catering and for other student activities programs. Paul Zuchowski, associate director in Student Activities and Union Facilities, said the department is still considering its long-term options for using the space.
To compensate for the closure of Portage Bay Galley, Brown said, HFS will make improvements to the Rotunda, located in the Health Sciences Center I-Court, including increasing its ability to serve customers quickly and easily and offering an expanded menu.
The Rotunda serves about 1,700 customers on weekdays, and Brown said that facility improvements there will accommodate additional customers. New items will include a pasta station, tossed-to-order salads and a “grab and go” area to make it easier to get a quick meal. According to Brown, Rotunda improvements will be in place for the beginning of the 2004-2005 academic year.
The very popular Oodles noodle bar will reappear in 2006 when the café in the Genome Sciences Building opens. More information about dining options on campus is available at http://hfs.washington.edu/dining.
