This semester, Bradley Dining Services brought a Jamba Juice smoothie bar to Center Court. In the process of making this addition, the Late Night Menu was revised and moved to the Michel Student Center.
The idea to bring Jamba Juice to Bradley came about in late July.
“Aramark, the company that manages the dining program directed by Bradley University, has a variety of contacts and programs that [they] offer at the various universities and colleges across the United States,” Director of Dining Service Gayle Hanson said. “In July, we were introduced to a pilot program with Jamba Juice to be offered in the P.O.D. Market locations. However, due to space and utility constraints, we requested permission to be a part of the program but to offer the concept at Center Court.”
The concept of a Jamba Juice smoothie bar was quickly welcomed by the Bradley Services dining staff, who were seeking an alternative to the inefficient smoothie option offered last year.
“Last year, we offered a frozen fruit blended smoothie option. However, there were challenges with obtaining the bases we needed to operate this option,” Hanson said. “So, when the Jamba Juice program became available we raised our hand and said ‘let’s bring it to Bradley.’”
While the smoothie bar seems to be a new and improved version of the smoothies offered in previous years, there is a drawback. Since it is customer operated, it is only capable of serving two flavors at once. Despite limited options, the smoothie bar has been well received by students, averaging 500 smoothie sales a week. As for limited options, Hanson’s staff has a solution.
“We will be rotating in different flavors throughout the year. Some are seasonal, and of course, [there] are favorites such as strawberry,” Hanson said.
This exciting new addition required dining services to make some changes in regard to what was offered on campus and at what locations. After reviewing the menu, the decision was made to move the Late Night Menu to the Michel Student Center.
“[These are] some of the most widely sought after items by the 18 to 22 year old customer base,” Hanson said. “With the Michel Student Center as the hub of campus and the changes at Center Court, it was a logical move for these menu items to be offered at the Student Center.”
The Late Night Menu, offering unique menu items between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m., provides students with food options after most of the dining locations on campus close. Deep-fried cheesecake and mozzarella sticks are just two of the options offered by the Late Night Menu.
“The fried ravioli was great,” sophomore biology major Ashli Evans said. “I loved it.”
Evans said she is also looking forward to trying a few of the other menu items, such as the boneless wings with buffalo sauce.
