Bon Appetit introduced APU dining services to Grubhub
Of all of the wonderful experiences Azusa Pacific offers students, waiting thirty minutes in line at the Den for a burger is not one of them.
Bon Appetit has come to the rescue, saving us all from absurd wait times. For on campus dining venues, students can now order their food on Grubhub and skip the lines.
How to get onto APU’s section of Grubhub:
- If you don’t already have it, download the Grubhub app and create your account.
- Go into your settings, and choose “Campus dining.”
- Click “Find your campus,” and type in Azusa Pacific University.
- Add affiliation.
- It’ll ask you to choose your class, or if you’re a guest.
- Lastly, add your ID card by signing into your portal.
The process only takes about five minutes. After the first time, you’ll always have APU’s dining services and your ID ready for a quick order.
Unlike ordering from off campus restaurants, the food doesn’t get delivered, so you’re not charged for a delivery fee. You’re only paying for your meal.
As of right now the APU restaurants offered on the app are: Cougar’s Den Cafe, Hillside Grounds at Heritage, Mexicali Grill, Sam’s Subs, The Grill at Heritage and Starbucks.
While the new service is exciting, the APU community has yet to take full advantage of it. Cierra Johnson, a junior social work major and Mexicali Grill employee, offered insight on Grubhub.
“We don’t get that many Grubhub orders a day which I don’t understand,” Johnson said. “Right after chapels, we always get a big rush and the line gets pretty long. I always think everyone could have ordered on Grubhub and wouldn’t have had to wait.”
Another employee of Bon Appetit, Melissa Nicola Marmolejo, a kinesiology major, noticed the same issue.
“Working at the Den I figured we’d be getting a lot of Grubhub orders because everyone is always complaining about the lines, but we get less than I thought we would and our lines still get long,” Marmolejo said.
My first thought is that maybe the app makes it difficult to order, so I tried it. Surprisingly, it wasn’t challenging at all. It was mostly straightforward, with the exception of a few issues.
When ordering, there is no option for gluten free or dairy free items. This can be resolved by making these specifications in the notes area when ordering, but it would be nice if Bon Appetit would make these options in the app.
Students don’t seem to be taking advantage of the app like they should. It’s very convenient for skipping lines. We’ve all been victim to the long lines of the Den or Starbucks, but that doesn’t have to happen any longer. This means no more being late to class because you didn’t think it’d take thirty minutes for your venti caramel frappuccino. You can order before you even leave your living space or while you’re still on the trolley.
Sophomore English major Jennifer Hansen shared her thoughts.
“I just haven’t gotten to [downloading the app] yet, which I guess is a bad reason,” Hansen said. “But I think about the fact that I would still have to pick it up, and that defeats the whole purpose of it for me.”
How many other students feel like this? Time is still being spent having to go to the dining venue once your food is ready for pickup. This can be a problem when you’re on the opposite campus of the restaurant you’re craving and don’t have time between classes to pick your food up. It could also be a problem for faculty and staff who have limited time for meal breaks, because travel time is still time spent.
A possible solution Bon Appetit can look into is delivery. Not only would this solve this problem completely, but it would create more on campus jobs for students. Delivery would make the app a lot more beneficial for both students and staff. If delivery is an aspect you’d like to see come to the app, all dining venues have customer review sheets you can make your comments on and let your ideas be heard.
Despite the fact that you still need to pick up your food, having Grubhub available to busy students that don’t have forty-five minutes to wait for some food, is such an amazing tool. Take advantage.