SLIM PICKINGS AT THREE AU CANTEENS OVER THE SUMMER: CURRENT OPERATOR IS STOPPING

From 29 May, the Nobel Park canteen will offer a reduced selection, and at the School of Dentistry and Social Sciences canteens at Aarhus BSS, staff and students will need to pre-order their lunch online the day before picking it up from a self-serve fridge.

This is because Jespers Torvekøkken, the current canteen operator, is stopping at the end of the month. In the meantime, the Studenterlauget canteen from Aarhus BSS has agreed to step in and offer a limited selection of meal options until a new operator starts. AU expects to have a new operator in place and ready to re-open the three canteens by the beginning of September, when the new semester begins, according to an announcement on the AU staff pages.

The canteens will be completely closed from 29 May until 9 June, while Jespers Torvekøkken packs up and moves out, and again from 24 August until 1 September, to prepare for reopening.

ORDER FOOD ONLINE

The School of Dentistry and Social Sciences canteen will also be closed in July, when there are fewer students and staff on campus. But from 10 June until the end of the month, it will be possible to pre-order food from a webshop for pickup after 11:00 the next day from a self-service fridge. Orders must be paid for when placed.

The Nobel Park canteen will be staffed 8:30 - 13:30 Monday-Friday. However, the menu will be more limited than usual.

This is because the Studenterlauget canteen is not allowed to cook in the Nobel Park canteen kitchen, so food will be prepared elsewhere and delivered to Nobel Park. The canteen will serve fresh-baked organic rolls, cakes and pastries, grab’n’go meal boxes and sandwiches, along with cold and hot drinks, according to Studenterlauget. The only options that will be available at the School of Dentistry and Social Sciences canteens are sandwiches and grab’n’go boxes. There will be both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options.

Catering for meetings and events will also be affected by Jesper Torvekøkken’s exit. From June through August, staff can order catering from a different canteen operator at AU. The Mathematics canteen and the Studenterlauget canteen on Fuglesangs Allé can deliver throughout most of the summer, according to AU’s announcement on the staff portal.

Staff and students can also buy food from the many other canteens at AU during the shutdown periods.

 31 MAY IS JESPERS TORVEKØKKEN’S LAST DAY IN AARHUS

Jesper Torvekøkken’s current contract with AU ends on 31 May. However, they will continue operating the canteen at DPU in Emdrup. Omnibus spoke with the company’s CEO Ronny Saul in February about the decision to shut down operations in Aarhus. He explained that it was impossible to run a profitable business within “the current contractual framework”. When asked whether Jespers Torvekøkken would be interested in bidding on the new contract, he said that they might consider it if the tender conditions were favourable.

Translated by Lenore Messick.