A new hot dog stand opened on campus eight months after the departure of Miracle Kate’s, which university officials said was due to a conflict of contract issues.
Owned and operated by the Mayes family, the new stand also operates the concession stand at the UNF Arena.
Miracle Kate’s stopped serving in January after Chartwells presented the mom and pop stand with a new contract, stating Miracle Kate’s had to serve one less day a week and could be asked to leave at any time, owner Mary Yeoman said.
In a previous interview with the Spinnaker, Yeoman said she believes it was also a personal issue because of the amount of money they made, forcing other on-campus eateries to compete for business.
“We didn’t consider [bringing Miracle Kate’s back],” said Dave Jordan, director of Chartwells. “They didn’t like the terms, and they just didn’t want to come back. We absolutely wouldn’t change the contract. They would have to operate under the same stipulation as any other contractor that would come on campus.”
Chartwells knew they had to bring in a new hot dog vendor since the departure of Miracle Kate’s due to the stand’s popularity and quick service, said Korey Konopasek, director of operations for Chartwells.
“We didn’t have enough food places to feed all of the students,” Konopasek said.
Chartwells asked Mays to fill the vacancy because they were already on campus, Konopasek said.
Mays didn’t know the previous circumstances, but believes his staff is more professional because they are accustomed to handling a high volume of customers, he said.
The stand opened during the summer B session on a request by Student Government.
“Once Kate’s left over a contract issue, we knew we had to do something to get a new hot dog stand,” Student Body President John Barnes said. “It’s great food at a reasonable price, and until the Student Union opens, it’s one of the few food options the students have on campus.”
The new stand will remain on campus for the remainder of the school year, until the Student Union is ready for business, said Konopasek.
“The last hot dog stand was good in service, but this one I can smell from a mile away,” said John Coniglio, sophomore business major. “I don’t know what I’m going to do when they don’t have a hot dog stand anymore.”
E-mail Josh Salman at managing@unfspinnaker.com.
Sarah Gojekian contributed to this report.
