By
Rachael Myer
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Dining service director promises UA students more reliable hot dog service
After a shaky first three days of service, the UA-operated hot dog carts will not run out of their product anymore, the UA dining service director said.
The University of Arizona Student Union has operated the hot dog carts since Monday and the process should get smoother, said David Galbraith, the Dining Services director.
"We're not going to run out of hot dogs again - we got that figured out," he said.
The cart near the Nugent building shut down early Monday because of a bun shortage, Galbraith said. One of the carts ran out of hot dogs for five minutes because of extra business Tuesday, he added.
"They're doing much better than anyone ever dreamed," he added.
The carts were operated by Dawg Daze for the last eight years, but their contract was not renewed because it was "not the strongest" proposal offered, Galbraith said in an earlier interview. The other requests for proposals should be made public next week after details are finished, Galbraith said.
Steve Arnold, a Dawg Daze co-owner, said he thinks the new cart staffers are "good people."
"We have no complaints with the people who work in the student union. The people who work there are good people," he said.
Galbraith agreed that his staff working the carts are nice people.
"The staff out there is as friendly as any staff we have," Galbraith said.
Attending the UA as a full-time political science senior is enjoyable for Arnold, but he said he feels a sense of loss or frustration since his business was given the boot from campus.
"It feels like something has been stolen from us," Arnold said.
Marchelle Brady, the other Dawg Daze co-owner, said she is spending her time selling the company's equipment. She added she's looking for a job but hasn't found one yet.
"I'm still devastated by it," Brady said. "It's very hard to not be working over there."
Staffers at the cart near the Nugent building have randomly given away hot dogs and Eegee's for free as a promotional deal, Galbraith said.
More food products will be sold soon, he said.
"I think they are doing a very good job, considering how new this is for them. In a week or two, they'll have it down," he said.
The goals of the student union operating the carts is to maximize revenues, which are used for UA Student Programs. Their other goal is to provide the best food variety, Galbraith said.
"We're just here to try to raise as much money as we can because it all goes back to Student Programs," Galbraith said.
Michele Donner, a math sophomore, said she liked the Dawg Daze service better than the UA service.
"They should bring back the Dawg Daze people because they had good stuff and plus the people were really nice," Donner said.
Erin Breidenbach, a special education junior, said she supports the UA trying to keep prices low but wouldn't support the university if it didn't give money back to student programs.
