From Pizza Hut to Burger King

While most Harvard students take jobs in existing businesses--selling clothing and waiting tables--a select group of undergraduates run their own restaurants.

The managers of the house grills pay rent for the right to use existing facilities within the houses but are then responsible for operating the snack bars on their own.

"It's a good organizational experience, managing a business," says Joseph K. Choo '89, manager of the Winthrop grill.

Four of the in-dormitory snack bars are already open, and most of the other grills--including new facilities at North and Lowell--will be ready for business within a week or two.

Serving a variety of snack food, from homemade pizza to pretzels and nachos, the grills operate in the evenings--usually weekdays only, although there are exceptions--for several hours each night.

The student managers are responsible for finding help, planning the menus and buying supplies. Many of them also design promotional campaigns to increase their business, and, of course, their profits.

The Kirkland House grill managers held a grand opening for their grill on Monday night, serving up burgers and showing a videotape of the movie "Caddyshack" on the grill's television. Eric J. Bentley '90, one of the students who own and operate the Kirkland grill, emphasizes that grill managers will "strive to maintain our number one status," referring to a survey of house grills conducted last year by The Harvard Independent.

At Mather House, grill manager Eric M. Call '89 relies on food specials to pull in the crowds. The Mather grill, which opened on September 26, offers homemade Wednesday night specials, such as Sicilian pizza and pizza rolls made from scratch.

To draw attention to North House's newly built grill--part of the multi-year Quad renovation project--the managers will be offering free pizza to house residents on October 16, in lieu of the house's traditional milk and cookies.

Choo and the other Winthrop grill managers plan to use entertainment to improve their business. "We want there to be a common theme" for the grill, Choo says.

In the past, the Winthrop grill has been known as "The Bat Cave," but this year's managers are considering, among other suggestions, renaming it "Mort's Place" and showing the Morton Downey Jr. show at 11:30 p.m. every night. "We want to turn it into a house-oriented activity," says Choo, "rather than just going down and getting a hamburger."

The Winthrop grill was rated worst in last year's survey, and Choo says "we can only go up."

But before such interesting schemes can be put into motion, the grill managers have to work on the basics, such as finding people to cook and serve the food.

At Dunster House, the grill opened last week, but co-manager Laurie A. Ciardi '90 says their organization is not yet complete. "We haven't been able to run at normal schedules," she says. "We're in the process of recruiting workers." Until grill workers can be found, the managers have been manning the grill themselves. But Ciardi adds, that there are quite a few people who want to work."

Call, too, says he has had no difficulty finding workers. He adds that working at the grill is "a way to meet a lot of people in the house."

At both Kirkland and North houses, the grill managers avoid the staff question and save having to pay salaries by working the grill themselves.

Problems with the facilities can also complicate the job of operating a grill. The Mather grill was forced to close early every night until the Mather bell desk opened, Call says, although he adds that everything is now running smoothly.

And at Lowell House, the grill will be opening for the first time since ventilation problems closed it two years ago. Renovations have solved that difficulty, but Theodore C. Liazos '89, who will be the manager, reports that he is currently having problems with electricians. "We hope to have it open soon," Liazos says. "There are lots of people who really want to see it happen."

House support can be vital to a successful snack bar. The Leverett House grill was one of the first to open this year and has been operating since September 26, says grill manager Vernon C. McDermott '89. McDermott says that the financial and moral support of the house committee are to thank for the Leverett grill's early opening. "The whole house was psyched to get up the grill," he says. "The cooperation of the house committee has been really effective."

But a house committee cannot create an interested and involved manager.

Currier House Committee Chairman Sean T. Boulger '89 reports that the committee is having some difficulty finding new management for this year's grill. At the moment, he says, there are three groups of students who are interested in managing, but each group is still weighing the factors involved in running the grill. Boulger states that he is confident that one of the groups will accept the job and that the Currier grill will be open soon.

Cabot, too, is without a grill manager, and Quincy is "still in the organizational stages," says the grill's manager-to-be.