Hungry students were devastated last Monday night, Oct. 22, when the new sandwich line at Josiah's closed 20 minutes early.
"I called my friends really excited because I look forward to hot sandwich night - I was going to get a grilled cheese," said David Notis '10. "We get here at 10:40 (p.m.), we get in line and the lady says no sandwiches," Notis described, holding up his arms and crossing his forearms in an X to demonstrate. The sandwich line officially closes at 11 p.m. "I unhappily ate my 'spicy with,' but I wasn't in the mood for it," Notis said.
Notis is not the only Jo's customer who has lately been disappointed with the late-night eatery. Multiple students told The Herald they were upset about food lines closing early, overpriced products and a shortage of condiments and other basic items.
"They often don't have ketchup, napkins, hot sauce," Notis said, continuing to list a series of complaints that included burnt food, bad tomatoes and high prices for baklava and Odwalla drinks. "What if you went to a restaurant and they said, 'Sorry, we ran out of forks.' It would be unacceptable," Notis said, adding, "I think they should take more pride in what they do."
Barbara Stekas '10 said she noticed that Jo's appears short-staffed lately. "It seems like they'll have fewer things open just because there aren't enough people there," Stekas said.
Despite these complaints, Ann Hoffman, director of administration for Dining Services, said there are no unusual problems at Jo's this semester. In response to a question about the grill line shutting down earlier than its official closing time of 2 a.m., she wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that the staff stops taking orders around 1:45, in order to allow enough time for the grill to cool and then be cleaned. "However, at that time the staff puts up about 15 sandwiches to accommodate orders that come in between 1:45 and 2," Hoffman wrote.
The grill line does occasionally close earlier, when it runs out of food, according to Johnson & Wales University senior Alonna Tuggles, who staffs the line.
Hoffman also dismissed suggestions that the grill has been understaffed lately. She wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that the current number of JWU students employed at the grill line, 27, is "about on-par with previous staffing levels. ... We always try to achieve a balance between those two employee groups. The JWU and Brown student staffing levels fluctuate over time but the majority of that staff continues to be JWU students."
Casey Bohlen '08, a Jo's cashier, said he has not encountered any staffing issues among cashiers, although it can be difficult to find workers for Friday and Saturday nights. "All the drunk people are so outrageous that nobody wants to work those nights," he said.
Tuggles has staffed the grill line at Jo's for the past year and a half, and she said there seem to be fewer JWU student employees this semester. "Usually there are a lot of (JWU) students," Tuggles said, but recently administrators have sought to achieve a more even balance between Brown students and JWU students. Tuggles used to work at the Ivy Room, she said, where "Brown students complained (JWU) students were taking over." As a result, administrators began making more of an effort to balance the numbers of students from each school.
Theft is one of administrators' main concerns about Jo's, according to Hoffman. "We continue to have a problem with theft, particularly during late-night weekend hours," she wrote.
Sebastian Gallese '10 said he has noticed theft is an issue at Jo's. "It's a game (for students) after Fish Co. on Wednesday nights, to come and take as much food as you can," he said.
Changes could come to Jo's in the future, Hoffman wrote, but changing the closing time from 2 a.m. back to 1:30 a.m. is not currently on the agenda. "There are still plans to add a salad concept and a pasta concept, but those plans have had to be put on hold for the time being," she wrote, noting that she hopes those changes will be implemented early next semester.
Despite some student complaints, Jo's remains crowded both during the week and over the weekend. "Personally, I like having a place to come where I can eat disgusting food," Notis said.
