2. Draw on similarities to cater to many cultures
Halal meat, which is prepared in accordance with Muslim law, has grown 70% on college and university menus in the past year, according to Technomic’s 2016 Q1 Noncommercial Insights Report, and is making inroads in other noncommercial areas as well. Operators at the University of California at San Diego saw a dining hall revamp as an opportunity to specifically cater to students’ needs. The 13,000-square-foot OceanView eatery now offers kosher and halal options from harissa chicken to beef meatballs to wood-fired pizzas to baked goods. One station, Spice, adheres to glatt kosher restrictions, while others are more relaxed, says Jason Andrews, development manager. Since opening in January, he told FoodService Director, OceanView has seen “an unusually large amount of visitors from the [local] Jewish community.”