The prevalence of
campus construction may excite many UCSD shoppers and scholars, but for small
businesses like the Food Co-op, the tangle of caution tape is a reminder of
last year’s unresolved problems. Lack of reimbursement for interrupted
facilities, as well as an abandoned satellite location in Price Center, are the
root of ongoing financial setbacks for the student-run store.
The co-op, a nonprofit
specializing in healthy meal options, is familiar with problems stemming from
the construction surrounding its locale in Student Center. Last year, the co-op
saw its foot traffic lowered, store space reduced and — from January through
April 2007 — kitchen access severed. Perhaps most grating to employees, though,
was their intermittent loss of access to water.
According to section
seven of the Retail Cooperative Space Agreement, temporary loss of water supply
would necessitate rent relief for the co-op. In spite of this written compensation
guarantee, University Centers Director Paul Terzino countered that
administrators had provided the requisite 30 days’ notice of facility
interruptions. Terzino further claimed that section seven only applies when
such interruptions force a tenant to close.
Although the co-op
remained open and functioning in the face of facility difficulties, university
administrators ultimately offered the co-op a 50-percent rent abatement that
members rejected.
“We didn’t accept [the
partial rent abatement] because we wanted to pursue full rent abatement for the
period of time that our kitchen was under construction, which we believe is
owed to us based on the language in our space agreement,” John Muir College
senior and Food Co-op employee Molly Parent said. “We are looking into more
formal means of settling that dispute.”
A week ago, co-op
employees decided to compose an official document asking the A.S. Advocate to
assist them in obtaining full rent compensation. Though a response has not been
received, employees hope that the letter will enable them to use the coming
A.S. Council meeting as a forum where they can publicly express and negotiate
concerns.
Another source of
frustration for the co-op is the failure of its satellite store, opened in
January 2006, which was shut down over the summer. Located in Price Center, the
satellite was an attempt to profit from the busy campus hub.
“It was really great
for us to be able to communicate to a new demographic and customer base, so
that we could educate them about food alternatives,” Parent said.
Though the additional
location was designed to compete with Price Center’s array of restaurant
options, the satellite struggled with meeting campus interest, slow summer
profits and a lacking staff. Combined with debt from a loan required to open
the satellite, the co-op’s finances were too unstable to support both sites.
Though the co-op expects to re-open the satellite in the
future, its focus has shifted to settling current debt and garnering more
campus support.
“It was cool to have a
presence in the corporate-dominated consumerism of the Price Center,” Muir
senior and co-op employee Adam Calo said. “However, I’m more focused on keeping
the co-op alive. Spreading too thin was the reason why it had trouble.”
In order to do this,
employees are looking to recruit more volunteers.
“We’re asking the
community to become involved as more than consumers, but as invested members of
the co-op,” Calo said.
