New campus center opens and Princeton’s only national burger chain calls it quits. Is there a connection?
By: Jennifer Potash
Ever since Burger King on Nassau Street closed last year, a question has popped up around town: Was its demise caused by the opening of Princeton University’s Frist Campus Center?
The campus center, located off Washington Road, opened in 2000 and now boasts a variety of eateries including home-style cooked meals, a sushi bar, a fast-food grill, Asian-inspired grilled dishes, a café and a pizzeria.
To the casual observer, a Burger King in a college town must seem a perfect fit.
But add a competitive restaurant market and a trend toward healthy eating to the mix and it may make sense that the take-out crowd no longer clamors for a fat-filled burger with fries on the side.
"It is very interesting," said Mayor Joseph O’Neill. "I met with the new student body president and member of the student government and I asked them where they liked to go downtown. And they said Small World (Coffee) and Hoagie Haven."
And if better-tasting and more health-conscious alternatives are available for about the same price and during hours that fit a college student’s schedule then going off campus for a Whopper would make Burger King less attractive to the university students.
Jessica Stahl, a Princeton University junior, said she prefers downtown eateries like Panera, Hoagie Haven, Thai Village, PJ’s Pancake House and The Carousel, and would not stop at Burger King.
The food at the Frist Center is "tastier, healthier, closer and more present in your thoughts" than fast-food fare at Burger King, Ms. Stahl said.
Jordan Paul Amadio, a Princeton University senior and a vegetarian, said the rare occasions he would frequent Burger King were for an early-morning egg sandwich during exams.
"The (Wawa on University Place) just doesn’t do hot food well," Mr. Amadio added.
Frist offers more options to students, he noted.
"It’s also far, far healthier to eat at Frist than at a fast-food joint," he said.
Some local restaurateurs view the Frist Center as definitely playing a role in Burger King’s departure from Nassau Street.
"The Frist Center had an impact," said Herb Tuchman, who owns PJ’s Pancake House. Since the Frist Center has been in operation, Mr. Tuchman said he has noticed some drop-off in business from the university crowd.
But the departure of Burger King is typical of the big national chains in Princeton, he added. "They get into trouble and they bail out," he said. "But if you’ve got a decent product and you make an effort to bring people in, you can survive."
The Annex, a Nassau Street restaurant considered a Princeton institution for more than 50 years, has also experienced some drop-off among Princeton University customers, said Rich Carnevale, co-owner.
"I’m not seeing the same number of university employees who used to come in for lunch," Mr. Carnevale said.
In reference to Burger King, he also said customers are leaning toward healthy eating and may want to skip the fast food.
"’Supersize Me’ (a 2004 documentary on the ill-effects of a fast-food diet) probably scared a lot of people," Mr. Carnevale said.
The Burger King opened on Nassau Street in the 1980s and became the first national chain fast-food operation in the downtown.
Odyssey Foods of New Jersey and New York, which owned the Nassau Street Burger King, declined to comment when contacted in January. The company did not return calls seeking comment this week.
John Roberto who, with his mother, Rosemary, and brother, Scott, run Town Management, the managing firm that owns the building said in 2004 it seemed likely Burger King would remain atop its Nassau Street throne for another decade.
"Last year, when their lease was about to expire, they at first said they were leaving, and then they said they wanted to stay," Mr. Roberto recalled. "We said yes and offered a new 10-year lease."
But a few months later, the owners of the franchise asked to be let out of the deal, Mr. Roberto said.
"They came to me and said they weren’t doing as well as expected," he said.
Since Mr. Roberto had a good relationship with the owners Norman and Mitch Lichtman he wanted to help them out before the losses mounted, he said.
Several fast-food chains and other national restaurants expressed a strong interest in the location and, ultimately, Saladworks Café made the best offer, Mr. Roberto said.
A national casual dining chain, Saladworks Café expects to open in early April, Mr. Roberto said. Montgomery residents Claudia and Richard Hopkins will own the Nassau Street franchise, which bases its menu on freshly made entrée-sized salads, all prepared to order in front of the customer.
Pam Hersh, director of community and state affairs at Princeton University, rejects the notion that Frist Center was the death knell for Burger King.
"It just isn’t true," Ms. Hersh said. "We are not doing anything differently than any major university."
The Frist Center was purposely located at the center of the university’s campus so downtown visitors and shoppers would not be tempted to bypass the restaurants and cafes in favor of Frist’s offerings, Ms. Hersh said.
Frist eateries meet the needs of students who want late-night options. Many stay open until 2 a.m. during the semester and 24 hours during exam periods, Ms. Hersh said.
Students regularly frequent downtown restaurants, she noted. And not all Princeton restaurants and take-out places are hurting.
Small World Coffee on Witherspoon Street is a de facto campus gathering space university students hunched over laptops while sipping lattes can be found at nearly every hour.
Panera Bread, on Nassau Street, offers free wireless Internet service and free beverage refills. College-aged students often hunker down in the deep leather chairs.
"It would not be cost-effective for me to have a kid taking up a table all day for just a cup of coffee," Mr. Carnevale said of providing wireless Internet access at the Annex.
The true king of the fast-food realm, at least for the college crowd, is Hoagie Haven on Nassau Street. With the original owners back at the helm of the hand-crank cash register, Hoagie Haven often has long lines for its variety of hot and cold sub sandwiches.
Kathie Morolda, president of the Borough Merchants for Princeton, said while she could not speak directly to the restaurants’ concerns, the members of her organization have not voiced "any major complaints" about the Frist Center drawing away potential customers from the university.
"That said, we all would love to have the students come across Nassau Street and shop in our stores and eat in our restaurants," Ms. Morolda said.
Burger King’s passing into Princeton history did not lack for mourners.
Brooke Stoddard, a Princeton University senior, said he first ate at the Burger King at age 7 during his father’s college reunion.
"For the purposes of history, the town of Princeton will lose its greatest tribute to fast food and I lament the day, that being graduation day or later reunions, when my family and I can’t buy Whoppers for din-din," Mr. Stoddard said.
During 2004, Mr. Stoddard said he made 15 to 20 visits to Burger King and a total of 40 during his collegiate career.
"Burger King has been a great place for getting food fast and close to my dorm rooms, not straining the wallet, eating while pre-gaming (a campus term for activities undertaken as a warm-up to parties) and filling that occasional need I have to feel like a poor college student," Mr. Stoddard said.
Special Writer Will Butler contributed to this story.