Business is booming at the new and improved Blue Room, as students take advantage of extended hours and new menu options.
Aaron Zick '11, the Blue Room unit manager, said the eatery has seen an "absurd" increase in the number of customers.
Ann Hoffman, the director of administration for dining services, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that the Blue Room is averaging 2,000 transactions per day on weekdays and 850 per day on weekends — a "significant increase over 2008" figures. Hoffman expects the traffic to "level off" as students establish settled daily routines, she wrote.
The "first couple of weeks were tough," Zick said, because new workers had to be trained and experienced ones retrained.
Hoffman wrote that the Blue Room has added 150 student shift hours per week. The eatery has also added two non-student positions, she wrote.
The new food offerings have also proved popular. Hoffman wrote that "customers seem to be particularly enjoying our new coffee and the deli sandwich offerings, particularly the focaccia sandwiches, which were a favorite before the renovation."
Zick added that the Kabob and Curry meals are "extremely popular."
The Blue Room also appeals to those who are not on meal plan. Hoffman wrote that only 30 percent of weekday purchases are made using meal credits and points, though students use meal credits and points for "virtually all" weekend transactions.
