Spartan Shops, which manages dining services on the San Jose State University campus, has seen sales drops of 17-18 percent, resulting in some cost cutting, reports the Spartan Daily campus paper. Among the changes are fewer hours of operation at some venues such as the Market Café, which now closes at 8 pm instead of 10 pm and the Village Market, which now opens two hour later than before, at 9 am instead of 7.
There have also been changes in concepts, with an in-house brand called Market Pizza & Pasta replacing the franchised (and more expensive) Sbarro’s. Market sells its pizza for less than the national brand. Other concepts have also added more economic choices to lure budget-conscious customers, such as a smaller sized salad option at the Market Café to complement the traditional full-sized one.
Spartan Shops administrators quoted by the Spartan Daily attribute the drop in sales to budget cuts on the public university campus, which has reduced traffic and made everyone more cost-conscious.