The SLAC Café may take some novel directions as the new Cafeteria Manager, Gary Turner, settles into his position. "I want to wow the guests," Turner said. "I want them to literally say, 'Wow, I had a great lunch today at the SLAC Café!'"

Gary Turner (far left) with the staff of the SLAC Café (Photo by Diana Rogers)

Turner is new to SLAC, but has spent the last two years working for Guckenheimer, the contractor that runs our cafeteria. Most recently, he worked as a relief manager, something he views as a strong point in his background. "You get to work in a different account pretty much every week. You get to work with different crews and you get to learn new ideas. You get to really absorb and take in a lot of information on how to be successful based upon the ideas learned from all of our other successful Guckenheimer accounts." Before Turner worked with Guckenheimer he was a manager at Pizzeria Uno, a national chain of sit-down restaurants.

Turner does not plan to make any radical changes to the menu—popular items such as Saguaros and The Potato Bar aren’t going anywhere. "After consulting with the chef and several customers, I’ve decided that I will not change the major staples or the trend." He does plan to revise the entrée rotation. "My goal is to put us on an eight-week menu cycle. You should not see the same entree twice in eight weeks."

Turner also stressed the importance of feedback. Comment cards are always available in the Cafeteria next to the soda dispenser. He strongly encourages everyone to use them, and also welcomes comments by e-mail to cafeteria@slac.stanford.edu. "The feedback is very important, both good and bad."

"Whatever it Takes" is the Guckenheimer motto, and Turner takes it seriously. "Every customer that walks into our Café will be treated like royalty. My staff will do ‘Whatever it Takes’ to help please and satisfy every single customer."

"I think we offer a tremendous service," he adds. "We’re here to serve you. So please let us know how we can do that better."