During its inaugural year at West Virginia University (WVU), Elior Collegiate Dining delivered exceptional results—including an increase in catering sales by a whopping 65%.
The company also earned a student satisfaction score exceeding 80%, surpassing previous years, and grew retail sales by 13.5%.
Chef-Driven Dining Concepts
The Elior team, known as WVU Hospitality Group, achieved the successful year with impactful campus engagement and innovative collaborations. The team’s dedication extended far beyond daily operations, contributing countless hours toward campus events, limited-time offerings, late-night activations, and student engagement initiatives designed to enhance the overall dining experience.
Thanks to a partnership with Celebrity Chef Fabio Viviani (FVH), a portfolio of chef-driven, all-day dining brands were introduced to students, including Taco Santo, Santorini, Good Habit, the Sandwich Shoppe and The Corner.
Strategies to boost catering sales included kicking off last school year with a Catering Showcase to introduce Elior’s refreshed catering program and strengthen relationships with campus partners.
“By delivering consistent offerings paired with exceptional hospitality, we are focused on creating memorable experiences for every guest,” says Dan Ball, regional vice president of Elior Collegiate Dining. “Our updated Catering Guide highlights expanded menu options and streamlined ordering, while our partnership with the Morgantown Area Partnership allows us to showcase our services to local businesses and grow our presence within the community.”
Keeping Catering Top-of-Mind in the New School Year
To keep the momentum going in the new school year, WVU Hospitality Group will host an expanded Catering Showcase on Aug. 27 “to provide WVU internal departments with an engaging opportunity to experience our catering capabilities, sample new menu offerings and connect directly with our team,” says Bell. Targeted promotions and seasonal campaigns will help keep catering top-of-mind throughout the year, he added.
As part of an end-of-year gathering to celebrate its highly successful first year on campus, Elior team members received custom “Yes, Chef” T-shirts—designed to foster pride and unity—and a personalized copy of The Professional Chef, a Culinary Institute of America cookbook, reinforcing Elior’s commitment to professional growth, skill development and lifelong learning.
The event honored the contributions of WVU Hospitality Group team members, including Javier Cruz, Michael Labastida, David Beck, Joseph Bellair, Melanie Brown, Jason McMullen, Joshua Bishop, Leah Davis, Noah Fraley, Jessica Dressman, Alaster Traetta, Han Clouse, Nevada Wilson and Lou Mayle.
“Our team is the heart of everything we do, and their passion will continue to drive our success in the year ahead,” says Ball.
Elior Collegiate Dining provides dining and catering services to colleges and universities across the United States, serving more than 32 million meals to students, faculty, staff and campus visitors each year.
