ETHAN COSTELLO | coste012@rangers.uwp.edu
Wyllie Market, located in Wyllie Hall, has had a contract with Subway for years and is finally ending. A’viands, the company overseeing UW-Parkside’s food and catering, is looking to the campus community for input.
Shall Subway stay or should a new contract be signed with another company? Katrina Sturino, the A’viands Retail Manager in charge of Wyllie Market, explains that there are two major competitors.
Erbert and Gerbert’s
One of the competitors is Erbert and Gerbert’s. This company was first established in 1988 in Eau Claire, WI and now have 98 restaurant locations statewide.
Unlike Subway, Erbert and Gerbert’s has set sandwich options. While they may only offer a one-size sandwich, 8.5 inches, their sandwiches are larger than Subway’s.
Like Subway’s “eat fresh” mantra, Erbert and Gerbert’s slices their meats and vegetables on site. If Erbert and Gerbert’s is selected, pricing is expected to be a little higher.
Einstein Bagels
The third competitor is Einstein Bagels, aka Einstein Bros. The chain was founded in 1995 by the Boston Chicken corporation, but is now owned by Einstein and Noah Corp. Einstein Bagels is also located at Carthage College in Kenosha.
The company, like its competitors, offers options for breakfast, lunch and dinner and has salad options and unique sweets. They provide bagel sandwiches, hot or cold. Einstein Bagels also has a variety of specialty creams and shmears.
Weighing the options
This choice is an enticing idea for many students. Sentiments about eating Subway day after day has grown sour across the campus.
Earlier this semester, Wyllie offered students and faculty to join in a restaurant tasting. As of now, the results of the surveys and comments are incomplete. No decision has yet been made.
Retail, staff unaffected
“Wyllie Market will still offer the retail items and the staff will stay the same as they are employed by A’viands, only the sandwich concept would change,” said Sturino. If the decision swings to changing the restaurant, Sturino added that there would be remodeling of Wyllie Market over the summer to accommodate for it.
