The Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) will be adding grab-and-go sandwiches from Rooster’s Coffeehouse to Henry’s—its convenience store in the University Centre—as part of a plan to revitalize the business.
Henry’s currently offers a variety of food and drink options, from breakfast muffins to chocolate, gum, and candy.
But in an attempt to increase profitability and give students a wider range of healthy food on campus, Henry’s will be adding grab-and-go sandwiches to the mix in October, according to CUSA president Fahd Alhattab.
The new addition will be “a really good competitive advantage and a great service for students,” Alhattab said. Along with the Rooster’s-branded sandwiches, yogurt and coffee will be prepared for the convenience store. Alhattab said research has shown that students want healthy food they can buy easily and quickly.
The goal, Alhattab said, is to add a Rooster’s kiosk inside Henry’s where students will be able to buy pre-packaged food that’s prepared fresh.
The first phase of the revitalization will begin in October by bringing in Rooster’s sandwiches, Alhattab said, and a renovation to the space will follow to “really make it look like a fun, nutritious spot and less of a convenience store.”
According to Alhattab, offering Rooster’s coffee at Henry’s will also save students time, given the long wait times at the Tim Horton’s on campus.
Revitalizing Henry’s will be done in three phases, Alhattab said.
“If we do phase one and realize that actually nobody wants any of this stuff, [we] might just stop dead in its tracks,” he said.
Alhattab said he is also hoping that the revitalization will increase Henry’s revenue from $30,000 to $40,000. He said Henry’s will pay Rooster’s for the sandwiches and Rooster’s will pay their supplier for the cost of the extra food.
Bailey Kew, a fourth-year public affairs and policy management student, said she is a fan of pitas from Rooster’s but “probably wouldn’t buy a pre-made sandwich.”
“[Carleton can] definitely improve on healthy food choices and the definition of healthy food,” Kew said.
Although she said she doesn’t see sandwiches as healthy, she doesn’t object to their addition to Henry’s. Kew said she would also like to see salads offered at Henry’s.
Sameer Keldani, a second-year engineering student, said he would stop by if the sandwiches were “all natural and super healthy.” He said he doesn’t eat at Rooster’s and tends to shy away from campus food because he believes there are not enough healthy options, so the addition would be beneficial to him.
According to Alhattab, cross-branding between the two businesses will be beneficial to Henry’s.
“People associate Rooster’s with healthy food . . . there’s a really good brand to it,” Alhattab said. “Right now if you went to Henry’s, there are some on-the-go items, but because it’s Henry’s, because it’s a convenience store, people attach a different idea to it, it doesn’t feel as fresh or as nutritious.”
Alhattab said if everything goes according to plan, students will have a full fledged Rooster’s on-the-go kiosk in Henry’s by January 2017.
