DormCon GBM 11/21/2024 (Concord Market)

Date: 11/21/2024
Location: 9-255
Attendees: DormCon exec, dorm presidents, interested MIT community members, and people from Concord Market (Faith - Director of Retail Operations and Steve - Director of Culinary Operations)

note

If you find any issues with the meeting minutes, please email dormcon-secretary@mit.edu

TL;DR

• Anyone can fill out the feedback form at dormcon.mit.edu/concord
• Basic information about Concord Market:
  • Planned opening on February 2nd!
  • Open hours will be 7am-10pm every day of the week, plus a 24-hour vending room
  • They’ll have some of everything!
    • ready-to-eat meal items - both hot and cold
    • groceries (produce, staples, snacks, beverages, etc.)
    • miscellaneous things, like toothpaste, batteries, etc.
  • Prices aren’t quite set yet, but they know price is a top concern and are working on getting the lowest prices possible
  • Some things may shift or get introduced later on, as they collect data and adapt
    • mobile ordering, loyalty system, etc. will be introduced a little later
    • products and focuses may change as they learn what sells/what people want
    • planning to start with a bit of everything and adjust as they go
  • Faith is the Director of Retail Operations (mainly handles groceries), and Steve is the Director of Culinary Operations (mainly handles the kitchen/prepared food)
• Main meeting structure/take-aways:
  • Concord Market gave lots of information on their planned store layout and ethos
  • Students gave many suggestions on things they would especially like to see in the market

Full minutes

Introduction from DormCon

• General intro about DormCon
  • they run REX!
  • they advocate for student issues!
  • talk to Jordan or Ananda after the meeting!
  • people should come to elections and run for positions!

Introduction from Mark

• History of La Verde’s
  • Back when Mark got here in 2018, they had Verde’s, run by Frank La Verde, first sold to Boston University, then to a dining contractor
  • Two years ago in April, they decided it wasn’t working and left. This was also a time of struggle for the Stud (floods, renovations, etc.)
  • The space is managed by MITIMCo, Mark is going to show pictures
  • Mark knows a lot of history about it!
  • La Verde’s never had any sort of student satisfaction survey, no feedback, they want it to better suit needs of students, staff, and faculty
  • No one liked La Verde’s, but then they left and people loved them because we missed them 🙁
  • Concord Market will collect more feedback than La Verde’s! There are QR codes on the windows with a feedback form!
• Introduction of the people from Concord Market
  • Thanks for coming!! especially during a super busy time of year with the holidays
  • Faith is the Director of Retail Operations
  • Steve is the Director of Culinary Operations

Pictures of the space, and introduction from Faith and Steve from Concord Market

• picture of front windows, where the fruit and vegetables will be - there are display cases wrapped in plastic
  • that area is going to be produce
    • produce dry by the windows - avocados, oranges, etc.,
    • also a floral case from local farms
    • “produce wet” on the shelves - bagged salads and things like that, cut fruit, any produce that comes in plastic
  • Concord Market understands that students/staff/faculty have busy lives! So there will also be lots of pantry stuff, bakery stuff, ready-to-go stuff
  • There will be more produce than La Verde’s had!!
• Picture of the counter from back to front, where ready-to-go stuff will be
  • when you walk in, there will be a chef’s table
    • there will be different nights (pizza night, ramen night, exciting things)
  • at the front - fryer, grill, saute area, oven, panini press
    • pre-made sandwiches (paninis) - built in front of you
  • also hot lights for pizza, can grab slices from there
  • espresso machine at the end of the counter
    • premade drinks and smoothies
  • cold and hot pans, staple items like chicken fingers, fresh salad
    • items will be rotated on a weekly/monthly basis
  • after a couple weeks or a month, there will be mobile ordering (!!)
    • cubbies for grocery to-go and hot food to-go, plus a counter for orders to be picked up
  • also grab-and-go prepped foods
    • lentil salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, etc.
    • small items - e.g., protein, can add onto salad
    • entrees - pad thai, dumplings
  • will also be soup wells in the counter
• Picture of the aisles where groceries will be
  • lots of aisles, where all the groceries will be!
• floor plan
  • all sorts of categories!
  • condiments
  • international aisle (Asian, Indian, kosher, etc.)
  • miscellaneous: school supplies, olive oil, batteries, feminine hygiene
  • “this is my favorite area - this is all snacks” - Faith
    • cookies, crackers, nut mixes, fruit mixes (concord market blends)
    • pre-packed fruits and nuts
    • Daily Crunch brand
    • they brought some things to show us!
  • paper goods, beauty, health, pet
    • can get a gift, dinner, shop for your house
  • entire fridge for grab-and-go beverages
  • milk, juices, plant-based things, tofu, eggs
  • ten doors of frozen - heavily focused on pizza, grab-and-go things
    • “most importantly, ice cream”
  • in La Verde’s - back wall was all beverages, over 500 types of beverages
    • Concord Market will have much more variety (things other than beverages!)
• Vending after hours room
  • immediately to the right if you walk in - between the bank and the store
  • 12x15 room
  • calling it the “NoshBox”
  • it’ll be a room that’s all vending machines 24 hours
  • foodsbot machine that’s refrigerated
    • takes student cards, debit, credit
    • take out what you need and it charges automatically
    • sodas, drinks, snacks, one shelf of grocery staples (milk and eggs?), prepared food, grab-and-go
  • general store hours are 7am-10pm, but this will be 24 hours!
• General pitch from Concord Market:
  • will be rotating things based on what sells well, seasonality, customer requests, planning on being super open to feedback!
  • “it’s been a fun passion project” :)
  • lots of capacity!
  • (at some point) might also do catering dedicated to students, staff, full menus for people to look over - with 24 hours notice for events, classes, sports, clubs
  • want to be part of the community and give us good food 🙂

Questions from Students

• What will the beverages selection look like?
  • a lot of different kinds of beverages
  • large beverage cooler
  • they brought a row of example sodas to show us (culture pop, other natural brands) - Concord Market exists in “the natural channel”
  • seltzer, water, Gatorade, Coke, in specialty natural brands
  • kombucha on tap
  • barista counter
  • smoothies
  • teas and juices (in-house)
  • Will there be Arizona Iced Tea?
    • yes - “I think we have to.”
  • There will be Coke and other standard brands as well as the natural brands
• What does the pricing model look like compared to other places around here? And is there a way to integrate TechCash/meal swipes?
  • plan is to accept TechCash and dining dollars
  • there are two people who control those things at MIT, and they’re working with them - working on a way to integrate into one terminal (or a second terminal)
  • dining dollars will probably only work on food, techcash on anything in the store
• Pricing compared to other things in the area?
  • not super expensive
  • some commodity lines, some specialty lines
  • “would not call it expensive”, have heard the concern from students over prices many times and know it’s a main priority
  • with their current one small store, hard to get top line pricing, but with the second (MIT) store, they’ll have more leverage to get lower prices
  • Steve has been working hard on this, will be his main job - talking to vendors to get lowest prices possible
  • They hear us! and will do their best to get us the best prices possible
• How will you incorporate feedback?
  • working with marketing person for dining! (Amanda)
  • will incorporate QR code on posters, links to a feedback form
  • dormcon.mit.edu/concord
  • also in-person things - customers say things like “Steve, can you make the chicken better?”
    • and then presumably Steve makes the chicken better
  • They will both be in-store regularly, so people can talk to them in person
  • won’t keep carrying foods that people don’t like, since that won’t serve us or them
  • Excited to hear what people think!
  • Mark - there’s a common problem with getting feedback about things, want to funnel it through somewhere (through the QR code or somewhere else)
    • it will go to DormCon leadership, Dining leadership, and Concord Market leadership
  • also something similar to comment cards in dining halls?
  • is this the best way of doing it?
    • form is nice because it’s anonymous
    • can also re-address if it’s not working
  • Mark - put the QR code on receipts if possible?
    • still at the beginning point with the systems, but should be able to do that
    • Faith has to do a six-hour training for the POS system (point-of-sale)
• What are the open hours going to look like, especially on the weekends?
  • 7am-10pm, 7 days a week
  • will collect data
    • “first year of business is mainly data collection”
  • will also have 24-hour vending machine
  • La Verdes used to be 24-hour, then went to 2am, eventually got to 11 or 12
  • used to be easier to get staff who would work late hours
    • staffing is their main concern
    • just hired the executive chef, will handle operations, so Steve can focus on pricing/operational
    • “if any of you want jobs, we’ll take your resume right now”
      • “when is my first day on the job”
  • they’re opening February 2nd
  • are you planning on hiring students?
    • “if you’ll work”
    • would be through Concord Market, not through MIT - commercial space, they pay rent to MIT
• What will the loyalty program look like?
  • similar to when you shop at Target and get points
  • point-of-sale system has that capability - can collect data on users, make your own account
  • once they’re operating with groceries to-go, can have an account, earn points, apply to coupons, etc.
  • currently building out the loyalty system (e.g., get your tenth coffee free)
  • probably won’t start immediately (they don’t do it at their Concord store), so figuring out what it’ll look like
  • they’re excited!
• Since MIT students are split into cook-for-yourself vs. dining hall students, have you thought about meeting needs of each group - what is the split between grocery section and prepared food?
  • Faith: What do you think would be the main difference between the groups?
    • people who cook for themselves are looking for groceries/pantry items, other group might be looking for prepared food, ready-to-eat things, snacks
      • “I love snacks.” - Faith
  • definitely going to have diapers, baby stuff, pet stuff, housewares, bags, tupperware, etc.
  • main focus will be on ready-to-eat items
  • can’t give exact percentage, but will be a little of everything, will be a healthy mix of both
  • Menus are still getting finalized
  • For things like raw meat, people from dining hall dorms might not want that, but they still plan to carry a little.
  • Faith and the owner are going through catalogs and still finalizing decisions! There also might be some adjustment once they open/see what sells.
• Any steps already taken regarding reducing food waste, and maybe including reusables?
  • At the store in concord - if there are things on the shelves that aren’t moving - Faith will tell Steve, and then Steve will use them for the prepared food
    • last year they had eight cases of soba, and a lot of shortening
    • the beauty of having the kitchen, can eat a lot of their own waste
  • They also partner with food banks
    • work with OpenTable in Concord - when prepared food starts going bad, they donate it
    • then eventually goes to compost
  • Staff regularly go onto shelves, take older items from produce to get cooked
    • fresh produce hits the shelves, but less fresh produce gets used for cooking
    • can make sauteed spinach, vegetable stock, can freeze things, etc.
  • Faith - Someone mentioned a green boxes?
    • Mark - it’s a reusable container - you check it out from dining, good for 300 uses, you bring it back and it gets washed, clamshell box of recycled plastic
    • like a Styrofoam take-out box, but not Styrofoam
    • Concord Market could have them, but would have to own the cleaning of them
    • Maybe easier to do a discount for bringing your own container or mug?
    • For green boxes, there would have to be a washing system - better to do ownership - if they disappear, they eat the cost
    • worth looking at, since there’s a dishwasher?
    • This is something else to grow into - it’s hard to work out all the small programming from the start
  • Reusable coffee mugs are a good idea!
  • For container materials, Steve is working on the research
    • they already use eco-friendly plastic
    • looking into paper-based materials that hold up to liquids, if they have to sit on a shelf
    • they want something that’s eco-friendly, consumer-friendly, and cost-effective
    • already have meetings set up to start talking about packaging with vendors
    • some of them service cambridge, have ideas of where to start
  • Mark - other good thing about coming to the area - lots of local resources to explore, packaging, reusable container options
    • lots of food and sustainability research around
  • They do hope to have all these programs eventually!
• Bringing reusable mugs? Does concord market already do this? For coffee/espresso?
  • might not start with it, but will incorporate
• Relative to other places (on campus or nearby) - any sense of pricing of meals?
  • have looked at various campus markets at other campuses, in surrounding area, trying to find a sweet price point
  • checked out La Verdes before they closed, as well as restaurants upstairs in the Stud
  • will come down to portion sizes, etc.
    • haven’t nailed it down yet, would love to tell us exactly, but Steve needs to sit down the chef and decide exactly
    • portion sizes so that food is a full meal, but also reasonably priced
  • a lot of the food will be sold by weight (e.g., soup?)
  • likely to have special deals, like a chips, drink, and sandwich discount
• Faith - does anyone recognize any of the products on the podium? (they brought products from a number of natural brands!)
  • people like the Made Good granola bars
  • “lots to expose you guys to”
  • Faith has the backstory on the guy who founded the El Nacho chip company after leaving another chip company
    • “same chip but better because it’s not… shady.”
  • Vendors might come in to the market and advertise
    • On the week they open - the first day is a Sunday - they’ll do a soft launch, will make sure everything is running smoothly
    • will be working with vendors to schedule tastings, have vendors bring swag, t-shirts, etc.
• What is the shelf life of things? Like, if students take prepared food home and refrigerate it?
  • Refrigerated prepared items are generally kept on the shelves for a maximum of four days - so if someone buys it on the fourth day, it will still be okay for at least a couple days
  • they make sure to date-check regularly - everything has to go on time
  • will check on the freshness, big part of their job
  • some things last longer, like dips, etc., things with lots of sugar
• Are there going to be sandwiches?
  • will have deli sandwiches that can be pressed into paninis, stacked in a French bistro style
  • also sandwiches on prepared-food wall (classic sandwiches)
  • some that can be pressed hot, plus some on the shelf to grab and go
  • trying to maximize convenience and variety
  • not like a subway, not make your own, but will be a rotating selection
  • ones in la verdes were not make your own, but were named after dorms!
    • naming idea is fun :) majors and dorms!
    • Faith makes the menu names punny :)
• What is thought process in terms of nutrition?
  • there will be variety
  • might not have exact nutrition facts, but will have ingredients listed out
  • will have some healthy things
  • cognizant of dietary restrictions: vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, etc.
    • Steve’s fiancee is allergic to many things
      • “good you’re a chef!” - Mark
  • will look into having lots of options
  • allergies are important, does not mess with them :), being an allergy-safe kitchen is extremely important
    • allergens will be communicated very clearly
• What are you most excited about?
  • “what a great question!” - Faith
  • “there’s so many!” - Steve
  • state-of-the-art POS system (point of sale) - lots of fun pieces - fun kiosks to order, a free-standing kiosk like at McDonald’s
  • groceries will be great and unique, totally different from Concord store
    • At the Concord store, they “exist in the natural channel” - no Cheetos, etc. - but at the MIT store, they will have some of those conventional things
  • “lots of new toys for me downstairs” - Steve (referring to kitchen equipment)
    • doesn’t have a hot service area in Concord, so this will be exciting
    • some things don’t hold cold
    • “I’m a big fan not of a good sandwich, but of *A Good Sandwich*”
  • excited about building culinary brand, excited to see what people like/dislike
  • wouldn’t be a part of this if they didn’t enjoy food
  • excited to have fun with food :)
  • they have a type of coffee - Mark says it’s “a really good coffee”
• Mark - up until mid-December, Dunkins operator was bringing in new point-of-sale system to have reward points and such, but they haven’t gotten it yet
  • at a lot of the Dunkins in the area, 75% of business is mobile order
  • the POS person Concord Market works with recommends not starting with mobile anything
  • Faith wants to be first with mobile-ordering, of the places on campus!

Question from Concord Market - Things that Students Want to See?

• OLIPOP soda
  • they have a fridge dedicated to it!
  • there are so many flavors, they’re all good
• Arizona Tea
  • any flavor - all the flavors
• edible cookie dough
  • there’s a company called Doughy that they plan to sell!
• caffeine, specifically Red Bull
  • they’ll definitely have caffeine
  • planning to have C4
• electrolyte drinks - Gatorade
  • especially the blue one
• staples for CFY dorms
  • e.g., baking essentials (flour, eggs, sugar, baking soda)
  • “baking soda? look, I know how to bake!” - Faith
• milk and eggs
• fruit!
  • dates
• dave’s killer bread
• Pan
  • pre-cooked corn flour, critical to some Hispanic dishes, for people in CFY dorms
  • they’ll look into it!
  • like corn meal but pre-cooked
• nuts
  • peanuts, almonds, different types
• Tajín seasoning
• nerds/gummies/candy, etc.
• plastic containers, pans?
  • real pots and pans?
  • will have small kitchenware section, maybe baking dishes, cookware, Tupperware?
  • small dorm appliances, but have to see what’s safe? e.g., hot plates
    • “don’t do that!” - Mark
• pads, tampons
  • will have those
• Jarritos
• small seasoning shakers
  • either single spices or spice mixes
  • “anything that’s spicy”
• tortillas
  • both corn and flour
• goldfish
• ramen
  • “so much ramen”
  • “so much ramen that we do ramen night” - Steve
• small bags of rice
  • H-Mart has huge bags, but it would be nice to have like 1-2 pound bags
• Emergen-C
  • vitamin C supplement
• raw meat
  • chicken breast for cooking
• fish?
  • at store in Concord, have a meat and seafood area
  • still deciding - will definitely have smoked salmon, shrimp in containers, not completely sure best method
• bread!!
  • commodity retail bread
  • in the kitchen, will be a bakery
    • planning to make sourdough from scratch!
    • seven year old starter!!
  • they brought dessert with them (!) - breads/brownies/etc.
  • in process of figuring out how much they’ll need to bring, etc.
    • don’t want to run out of sourdough starter
    • might not be immediate, but will happen eventually
  • for now - bringing things from Concord, local vendors, local bakeries, bakers, etc., to showcase their bakery items
  • mixture of what Faith gets in (commodity stuff) and what their staff makes
• small pharmacy section
  • band-aids, Ibuprofen, essential medicine, Tums, Tylenol, cough drops, etc.
• toothpaste
  • “deep desire to not walk twenty minutes for toothpaste”
• Haagen-Dazs
• fresh fruit and vegetables
  • nice to have good selection of fresh vegetables, etc.
  • pre-cut, but also whole
• yogurt, especially Greek yogurt
• Ziploc bags
• oven tins
• coffee creamer
  • oil-free
  • Faith - do we want normal size coffee creamer or smaller ones?
    • bigger one (CFY dorm, makes coffee every day)
  • filters, grinder, other equipment?
    • instant coffee or pods
• good band-aids
  • strong opinions about band-aids
    • “this is your platform too!” - Faith
  • fabric ones or plastic ones that don’t fall off
  • hydrocolloid band-aids
• chocolate milk
• starfruit, dragonfruit
• “warning you off bananas”
  • (because of banana lounge)
  • they could collab with banana lounge - since banana lounge has an issue with wasted bananas
    • “you have no idea how much banana bread we make” - Steve
• cheese
  • “there’s so much in this store.”
  • all kinds of cheeses
    • conventional
      • Kraft single, shredded cheese, Cabot cheese
    • “girl dinner cheeses”
      • Brie, gruyere, fresh mozzarella
  • also dips
  • “we have a designated cheese buyer”
• deli meats?
  • they will have sliced meats along with sliced cheeses
• given amount of variety - “how are you going to make sure there’s enough for everyone?”
  • there will be frequent delivery days
  • deliveries from Chelsea and Cambridge
  • starting with a little of everything, will pare down as they learn what sells
    • won’t know for sure till they open
• How big is the store?
  • 6000 square feet, pretty big, kitchen is 4000 square feet
• contact solution, batteries, phone chargers
• deodorant
• hand soap, dish soap, sponges

Conclusion

• Thanks from Concord Market to students for feedback!
• Thanks to Concord Market for coming and talking to us!
• Feedback form again: dormcon.mit.edu/concord
• Another plug to run in the upcoming DormCon elections!