<p>[Crimson</a> Cafe shuts its doors | TuscaloosaNews.com](<a href=“http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20110630/NEWS/110629605/1007?p=1&tc=pg&tc=ar]Crimson”>http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20110630/NEWS/110629605/1007?p=1&tc=pg&tc=ar)</p>
<p>Though the restaurant was pretty mediocre (I won’t be missing it), this is a good example of the destructive effects of the competitive advantage that Dining Dollars gives Aramark.</p>
<p>How many other restaurants on the Strip accept Dining Dollars? To my knowledge, save for Buffalo Phil’s, zero. Are they hurting for business competing with Bama Dining?</p>
<p>I think Crimson Cafe’s closing is a reflection of a unsustainable business model…whining.</p>
<p>*Crimson Cafe founder and owner Rhett Madden blames the university’s Dining Dollars program, saying the 21 percent fee the restaurant pays every time it accepts Dining Dollars forced him out of business. *</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>No restaurant is obligated to accept DD. Most don’t, yet they stay in business. He obviously didn’t have a great product because he felt that he needed to do the DD option, which he couldn’t afford.</p>
<p>If he had a great product, he could’ve operated like the other businesses who don’t accept DD. </p>
<p>This guy needs to blame himself and his product.</p>
<p>Yeah, Crimson cafe sucked, no doubt about it, but I find it rather problematic that Aramark is allowed to levy a 20% fee on all Dining Dollars transactions, making competitors, well, unable to compete, while the majority of the (upwards of) $20 million/year Aramark takes in from Dining Dollars is routed to overpriced on-campus options. Prior to Strip Teas closing last year, I had a lengthy chat with the owner, and he said roughly the same- while Aramark provides decent food to the campus, the fee they deduct from all non-Aramark transactions through Dining Dollars is very destructive to their profit margins, even though the captive audience that DD provides is undoubtedly attractive.</p>
<p>(Also worth considering, DD likely takes a large chunk out of the money students would be using on off-campus dining)</p>
<p>[Crimson</a> Cafe International Coffee House the - Tuscaloosa, AL](<a href=“http://www.yelp.com/biz/crimson-cafe-international-coffee-house-the-tuscaloosa]Crimson”>http://www.yelp.com/biz/crimson-cafe-international-coffee-house-the-tuscaloosa)</p>
<p>Reviewers were not kind to the crimson cafe…
BTW; 20% is much less than Groupon and the like take.</p>
<p>Honestly, I never ate at the Crimson Cafe, but I seriously wonder why the owner decided to pay a 21% commission all the time. </p>
<p>That said, I still don’t see an incentive to use Dining Dollars/Bama Cash. Other schools give 5% off and waive the tax when using their version of Bama Cash and also give 5% back on deposits of $200 or more, plus credit card rewards, while UA gives noting except the credit card rewards. I’d also like to see the fees they charge merchants to accept Bama Cash. While it’s likely less than 21%, I’m guessing that it’s over 5%.</p>
<p>On an unrelated note, I really hope that the Crimson Cafe location doesn’t become yet another stupid apartment leasing office.</p>
<p>Oh, and also, is the Capstone Club any good? Groupon is offering 2 greens fees and a cart for $38.</p>
<p>I never ate there and not even sure I ever noticed it. However it seems like an ideal location to bring back former Tuscaloosa icon Kwik Snak. A Starvin Marvin with tots sure would bring back a lot of memories.</p>
<p><a href=“Also%20worth%20considering,%20DD%20likely%20takes%20a%20large%20chunk%20out%20of%20the%20money%20students%20would%20be%20using%20on%20off-campus%20dining”>I</a> *</p>
<p>that is a necessary situation which many/most colleges have to agree to otherwise these vendors would not put their dining venues on campus property. Those businesses don’t get year round daily business as they would if they were off-campus. They often have little or no business at night or on weekends or during the summer. They wouldn’t bother if they weren’t given some assurance that students would use their restaurants. </p>
<p>Schools need them on campus because they can’t provide enough food choice variations themselves. </p>
<p>And, no student must use their DD…they could cash them out at the end of the year and use them wherever they want the next year. the only year affected would be frosh year. And, after frosh year, no student has to buy a meal plan anyway. </p>
<p>*Yeah, Crimson cafe sucked, no doubt about it, but I find it rather problematic that Aramark is allowed to levy a 20% fee on all Dining Dollars transactions, making competitors, well, unable to compete, *</p>
<p>Since Aramark can’t force a restaurant to accept DD, there isn’t an issue with “allowing”. Aramark is a private company. If Bama objected, all Aramark would do is say that no outside restaurants can accept DD. Then what? That’s what most restaurants are already doing since so few accept DD.</p>
<p>An outside restaurant accepts DD to bring in business…that’s the only reason. They aren’t obligated to participate. </p>
<p>If the Crimson Cafe was offering a great product is would have strong sales like OTHER restaurants do in T-town that don’t accept DD.</p>
<p>**The fact that CC is hurting despite the fact that T-town has been CROWDED with extra people/workers/etc after the Tornadoes is an indictment of its quality …and nothing else. **</p>
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<p>Oh, that would be ridiculous wouldn’t it? If there’s any poetic justice, Pepito’s and Lai Lai, which were recently kicked out of their building for not being upscale enough by the owner (which happens to be UA) will move in.</p>
<p>Capstone Club is supposed to be very nice. It was built with input by UA (it was, and maybe still is, the golf team’s home course - I don’t remember Ol’ Colony is now the home golf course, or if the team just has a practice facility there). I haven’t had the chance to play there, but I have wanted to. I may take up the offer on that Groupon myself.</p>
<p>How about the temporary location for the Full Moon???</p>
<p>^^^^</p>
<p>Interesting idea…but limited parking may be an issue.</p>
<p>I was thinking that Full Moon might take a restaurant spot in Midtown Village…there are at least 2 more restaurant corners available there…but the rent may be too high.</p>
<p>That lot (formerly a gas station) on the corner of Midtown Village is available but I don’t think some quickly built building would be allowed there. I think the gas station was a BP before the tornado.</p>
<p>I once ate there and ordered a Chicken pita. The shredded chicken tasted like paper dust! It had zero taste. I don’t know about yall, but I am usually disappointed by the offerings at most restaurants like Crimson Cafe. I love tasty food, by I am into healthier tasty food with plenty of color and actual diversity of offerings (different kinds of grains for example), healthy fats, free range chicken, grass fed beef, substantial vegetarian offerings, green leaf lettuce, etc., and so wish somebody would open a cafe close to campus that offered such things, other than the ubiquitous chicken wings, hamburgers, crap, etc. Does Manna Health food store still have a restaurant? Working at Manna when I attended UA allowed me to see a different way to eat, that I actually enjoyed. I am sure that many of the faculty/staff at UA, and even some of the students would love such a venue. </p>
<p>I know this sounds weird to most, but to me it just makes sense to gravitate toward healthier options that still taste good. If anyone is interested, please watch Food Inc. It will change the way you view food and the food industry, forever. And it does show viable alternatives to our current system, that produces quality tasty meats, produce, etc. so its not Debbie Downer territory.</p>
<p>^ Kind of disappointed to read that there isn’t much for healthier options around campus. I certainly love my burgers and wings, but that’s a once in a while thing, not something I can eat all the time.</p>
<p>Well, you have places like Manna Grocery, Newk’s, Pita Pit, etc. No the largest selection in the world, but certainly not a complete lack of healty-ish places to eat.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Regina…there are healthy food offerings at places near the campus. I’m not a hamburger or fried foods person and I don’t have any trouble finding healthy foods around T-town.</p>
<p>There are several options for healthy food near UA- problem is, most of the locations in close proximity- mainly, at the Strip- are fairly unhealthy. Subway, Pita Pit, or Jimmy John’s are the only places there that I’d consider to be healthy in nature. (Surin and Ruan Thai, maybe as well) Thankfully, the Publix is within several hundred feet of Ridgecrest, and while their prices may be a bit inflated (their rent has to be astronomical), they certainly beat the prices at Bama Dining-run locations.</p>
<p>yeah, I don’t want anyone to think there are no healthy options</p>
<p>I just think Tuscaloosa and the campus deserve a few more and higher quality options. I am very different from most, so take that into consideration. As far as Asian food goes, yeah, they tend to have healthier options than a lot of other cafes in town.</p>
<p>I’ve met many students who had no idea that the dining halls offer [limited] vegetarian options. Of course, when I’ve asked restaurants and grocery stores in Tuscaloosa what kind of oil they fry their foods in, they looked at me like I was from another planet. FWIW, Bryant [Athletic] Sports Grill/Dining Hall is the only dining facility that can accommodate gluten free diets.</p>
<p>Publix can be reasonably priced, provided that you shop their sales. Their meat is of better quality than the Super Target, but their meat and produce is usually high-priced. Of course, meat and produce does has to travel farther to get to Alabama.</p>
<p>I’m definitely thankful for the proximity of the Publix. My roommate and I basically bought the entire Martha Stewart kitchen collection, so we are planning to do a ton of cooking – I will do whatever it takes to avoid eating in the dining halls anymore than I absolutely have to.</p>
<p>Just something I’ve been wondering – is there anywhere to get some good seafood in T-town? I’ve always lived pretty close to the coast, and I’m used to eating seafood all the time.</p>