Baker University Center's upscale restaurant is lowering its prices for students on Monday nights in hopes that more of them will come for dinner. But so far, it's unclear whether students are buying in to the Latitude 39 discount.
With the purchase of any beverage and with their Ohio University ID in hand, students can receive 50 percent off on any pasta entr+
said Emily Howard, marketing manager of Auxiliary Services, which oversees Latitude 39 as a part of Dining Services.
So far, only one of the student nights has seen a sizeable flow of student traffic.
On Jan. 14, the second Monday of the quarter, 80 percent of the roughly 40 patrons were students, but the restaurant was closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and no students came to the most recent student night, Hurst said. He speculated that midterms might explain why fewer students are coming in the middle of the quarter.
During its first six months of operation, Latitude 39 lost about $295,000. However, that loss included about $150,000 in startup costs such as equipment, technology and table linens, Howard said, noting that most restaurants need three to five years to become profitable. Profit data for last quarter are not available, but the restaurant's budget summary projects another almost $162,000 loss for 2008.
Hurst said the student nights are a test to see what the restaurant can do to create more student interest ' and the success of the nights might determine whether student discounts are extended to other items on the menu or whether the restaurant hosts student nights throughout the year.
Hurst and Howard collaborated with two student marketing interns and took student input into consideration when planning the event.
We're just trying to think of things that we would enjoy and our friends would enjoy and become drawn to said Emma Looney, a junior marketing intern who contributed to the project.
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Katherine Bercik
Latitude 39 looks to draw a larger student crowd with Monday night bargains
