New cafes open across district campuses

TCC has opened Caffe Noliz to the NE, NW, SE, South and TR East Campuses following the loss of vendor Genuine Foods.

After the sudden withdrawal of Genuine Foods, Mike Herndon, the executive director of procurement, set out to find a new food service option for students.

“ECI has been a previous vendor,” Herndon said. “They actually are the company that ran the TR Campus food service for many years.” Herndon explained that TCC had to find a new vendor after an issue with the previous company.

“So we ended up with a contract dispute with vendor Genuine Foods,” Herndon said. “Who had begun setting up back in the fall. We ended up having to hedge our bets and renegotiate a contract with ECI to take over operations.”

Caffe Noliz opened on NE, South and TR East the week before spring break. NW and SE followed, opening on March 27 and 29 respectively. TR Campus already has a food service by ECI Management group called Trinity Brews, which includes a full kitchen.

Caffe Noliz is a “We proudly serve Starbucks’ location. Each campus serves Starbucks drinks and a variety of grab and go food selections — such as sandwiches, salads and wraps. Caffe Noliz worker

Cathy Moore has seen many students utilize the service.

“We’ve had a lot,” Moore said.

“And we’ve had a lot of people go

‘It’s so wonderful you’re here,’ so yeah, they’re all excited.”

ECI Management manages and oversees all food service locations — including hiring and kitchens.

“They have a Chef who oversees all campuses and various level employees at each campus,” Herndon said. “ECI will hire directly. They have signs posted around each campus with instructions on how to apply.” NE student Jo Mahoney first heard about Caffe Noliz the week after spring break and visited it for the first time recently. Mahoney saw the excitement from other students