Sodexo Ireland, the catering company currently running the Perch café in the Arts Building, is set to run the upcoming restaurant in the new Trinity Business School building, having won the contract by open tender.
However, the new restaurant is expected to be a “very different style” to the Perch, according to Professor Andrew Burke, Dean of the Trinity Business School.
Speaking to Trinity News, Burke stated that the team behind the restaurant is aiming to create “an outlet that isn’t currently on campus”. In that regard, the Dean commented that they were “conscious that we will have a lot of professionals and executives in the building as well”.
The restaurant is to encompass a number of different areas, each of “different styles”, according to Burke. The space includes an executive lounge, an outdoor area, and a more open plan space where students can sit together and engage in group work. Despite the use of the word “executive”, Burke emphasised that all of the areas are very much open.
In addition to the restaurant, there is also to be a café situated in the basement of the new building.
Students recently received an email from the Chief Operating Officer of Trinity, Geraldine Ruane, inviting suggestions for the naming of the new restaurant. The winner of the competition will receive a €50 top-up on their TCard.
The contract between Trinity and Sodexo relating to the Perch is reportedly worth €1m annually. However, Burke could not comment on how much the present contract for the restaurant in the new Business School is worth. Burke estimates the contract is to run for three to five years.
Sodexo, an international hospitality service company, employs approximately 3,700 staff across Ireland. Last year, they entered into a contract with National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) to manage its on campus restaurant, An Bhialann.
The new Business School is over 11,300 metres squared and is comprised of eight storeys, with six above ground and two below. The building, located on Pearse Street, includes a 600-seat auditorium and 140-seat lecture hall, alongside several smaller lecture theatres.
It is a near-zero energy building, containing natural ventilation, solar panels, and two green walls on the outside in keeping with College’s sustainability policy.
Speaking at an event in September, Provost Patrick Prendergast stated that Trinity had invested €80m in the project, with €20m coming from philanthropic donations and €60m from investment and loans.
The new Trinity Business School building is set to open in March 2019.
