By Parisa Burton
Staff Writer
Blueberry Kitchen + Tap celebrated its long-awaited grand opening on Feb. 12. The restaurant experienced an influx of visitors from open to close, echoing the campus’s eagerness to try this new spot and receive the generous 40% off promotion.
“The name ‘Blueberry’ actually comes from the state fruit,” said A.K. Patel, one of the restaurant owners.
The grand opening has been in the works for quite some time now, as preparations have taken longer than anticipated for everyone.
“Preparations for the opening have been insane,” said Brenna O’Leary, front-of-house shift manager. “The owners have been working on opening this place for six months or so at least.”
A lot of students were frustrated with long wait times, and others were denied service due to the large turnout.
“I always feel it's better to give no service than bad service,” Patel said.
Patel emphasized that he wants the customers to have the best possible experience, which is why the restaurant could not accommodate every single customer on opening day.
Unfortunately for some, the grand opening was disappointing and did not meet their expectations.
According to Maddy Smith, senior interactive multimedia major, the soda machines weren’t up and running yet when she went.
“Some of our food was cold and it was clear they were short staffed,” Smith said.
As a new restaurant, it’s going to take some time before everything is up to par, and before everyone is completely satisfied with the service.
Sabrina Farrell, a senior criminology major, said she would like to give the restaurant more time to work out the kinks before recommending it to others.
According to O’Leary, it’s not so much an understaffing issue as it is a training deficiency.
“We’re all brand new and learning how to work together, how to work in this building, use the computers and other general stuff,” O’Leary said.
The restaurant is currently hiring for bartenders, servers, line cooks, kitchen help and an assistant manager.
“If people have experience that’s definitely a plus because we want to have enough people as it gets busier,” O’Leary said.
After getting everything settled and having everyone trained, the restaurant has larger plans to engage the campus community.
“I feel like as of more recently the only thing people want to do is drink and it’s boring,” O’Leary said. “I want to implement events like karaoke, trivia and other fun stuff that will get everyone moving and doing a bit more.”
This restaurant is unlike any other one on campus, for its large size and bar service.
“I did my best to bring on a staff with a personality and I think that’s like the biggest thing, making it an experience instead of just sitting here and getting something to eat,” O’Leary said. “Anywhere can be cute and the food can be good but the service has to match that.”
The campus community has been yearning for a place like this after the closing of Arooga’s a little over a year ago.
“We needed a bar on campus for those who want a fun night, but don’t want to leave campus,” Smith said. “When Arooga’s left, I was upset that I didn’t have a spot to watch sports games and have a drink or two. Now that Blueberry has opened, we have a spot again.”
Farrell and Smith agreed that the food options presented to be more diverse than Arooga’s were.
“There were options like octopus and duck legs, which is just not at all what I expected,” Farrell said.
“I definitely like the appetizers like the boom boom shrimp, the giant pretzel, the blueberry sliders and all the burgers,” O’Leary said.
As far as other differences in the restaurant, the overall look has been revamped but the layout remains virtually identical.
The restaurant’s Tacos of the Town and Signature Cheeseburger (Photo by Parisa Burton / Staff Writer).
“It was nice inside, but it just looked extremely similar to Aroogas but with different colored walls,” Farrell said. Smith added that it was very dark inside, but it fit the vibe.
The owners and staff are very excited about the future of Blueberry Kitchen + Tap and engaging the campus community.
“It’s a great place and a great community,” Patel said. “We want to make sure that every customer comes in and has fun.”
