There’s a new restaurant on campus at UTSC. Well, sort of.
On Tuesday, Oct. 20, dozens of students, staff, and curious alumni packed the lower level of the student centre to see the grand opening of Rex’s Den. The dine-in student pub, owned by the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union, is located in the space formerly occupied by SCSU-owned restaurant Bluff’s.
Rex’s Den promises a substantial discount to students with a valid T-card, as well as residence delivery, ethnic food options, longer hours, and regularly scheduled events.
SCSU president Zuhair Syed says the revamped space will be a great spot for students and will improve campus life. In a recent press release, Syed emphasized that many of the new features will be in stark contrast to those provided by Bluff’s, which many students complained offered insufficient food options and extremely limited operating hours.
Bluff’s was closed down at the end of January this year due to what Syed called “severe financial difficulties,” amid protests from staff about overtime wages.
Alex Vadakojis and Ryan Hall, both second-year students, said they were often frustrated to discover the space was closed as they were leaving class, and that the newly decorated space has a lot of potential. “I like the jerseys and the TVs and the karaoke,” Hall said with a grin.
Hall also cited the student discount as a large incentive to draw customers and stimulate campus life, despite the current recession. “There isn’t exactly the biggest social atmosphere in this area, so hopefully this will draw more people in,” he said.
Tom Nowers, UTSC’s dean of student affairs, said there’s no shortage of demand for the restaurant. Nowers pointed to the huge lines on campus at various food vendors each day. “There are so many students here so under-serviced from the point of view of food,” he said.
Nowers added that students won’t be the only ones drawn back into the space now that it’s reopened. He said after Bluff’s closed, the university lost a place often used for large staff events, award nights, and private functions for visiting guests and lecturers. Nowers also stressed the importance of the space as a place for students to learn about working in the restaurant industry: “It’s a kind of learning laboratory in food services for our SCSU.”
Lilian Yeh agreed it was time for a change. The fifth-year international relations student said it was no secret that Bluff’s had lots of problems and was losing a lot of money. “With regards to things like pricing and service time and food quality, it just wasn’t meeting student demands,” she said. “It didn’t reflect our demographics here of different races and ethnicities,” she added, describing the Bluff’s menu as being limited to mostly continental options or “white food.”
Rex’s Den officially opens for business on Thursday, October 22. For more information go to therexsden.ca.
