Happy delivery

You’re snuggled into that comfy couch and the Bengals are about to kick off when you realize you’re out of game grub. What to do?

Starting this semester, students can fill their mid-Sunday cravings by ordering sandwiches, salads, pizza and wings from Flyer Enterprises Delivery.

The newest division of the student-run Flyer Enterprises, FE Delivery provides an on-campus delivery option for a flat $4 fee. Garrett Uhlir, Flyer Enterprises chief operating officer and senior finance major from Chagrin Falls, Ohio, said his goal is to provide students with quality food for a better value and support campus-run food services and their student workers. “It keeps money on campus,” he added.  

Students using the service between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. can pick from bagel sandwiches and flatbread pizzas offered by Fly By, a Flyer Enterprises food service in Kennedy Union adjacent to the bowling alley. They can also pick from pizzas, salads and wings offered by Toss, a restaurant in the union operated by Dining Services that was not previously open Sundays.

Orders come in, and workers slice the bagels and spread the cheese. Finished food is then loaded into a Dining Services delivery cart. A driver first swings by Marycrest and the other residence halls before dipping down into the student neighborhood.

Uhlir said Flyer Enterprises started the delivery service after hearing stories of high fees charged by off-campus delivery options — as much as $10. They also heard students complain that off-campus food options didn’t cater to their tastes and couldn’t be paid with their student meal plans.

Connor Keefe, Flyer Enterprises CEO and senior accounting and finance major from Cleveland, said the new division developed through an existing joint venture with Dining Services. Every Friday, the two organizations sit down to discuss current operations and future opportunities.

“They are very helpful on anything where we need support on, be it HR or operations, across our divisions,” he said.

“They are always willing to help; they are always wanting to teach.”

That partnership proved pivotal this fall, when Flyer Enterprises discovered a plumbing leak in its Heritage Coffeehouse. Wallboard, prep surfaces and counters had to be ripped out. Dining Services was at the ready, connecting Flyer Enterprises with contractors and walking students through the restoration process.

“They had the conversations we didn’t know we needed to have,” Keefe said, which helped cut what he thought would be a four-month project down to four weeks.

FE Delivery has helped Flyer Enterprises recoup the revenue lost during that month, he said, plus gave its employees another work option.

Sophomore Tess Murphy jumped at the chance to also join FE Delivery. “I like the change of pace and moving around more,” said the pre-k through grade 5 education major from Park Ridge, Illinois, who usually sells coffee at The Blend. She said she loves the job and its food; her go-to order is a bagel with egg, cheese and hash brown. She also likes driving the cart.

“It’s fun when I pass people I know who do a double take and wonder, ‘Why is Tess driving a golf cart?’” she said.

In the first two months, FE Delivery averaged 27 orders per Sunday. But as the weather gets colder and football season heats up, the new unit expects to make many more happy deliveries, regardless of the Bengals’ record.

Prepping the order

As a sleepy campus wakes up on a Sunday morning, orders slowly trickle in to Flyer Enterprises Delivery. In Kennedy Union, Dining Services workers for Toss start making the food. Sai Anirudh Adepu, left, and Yashvanthini Uppala, right, both graduate students, have fun pulling pizzas from the oven. Billy Mikolay, a junior management major, then drives the delivery truck through campus to a doorstep on Kiefaber Street. “Everyone’s excited to see FE Delivery pull up to their door,” said Mikolay, who shared a fun fact: Golf carts are allowed to be driven on sidewalks, but FE Delivery drivers cannot cross Brown Street.

Bagel sandwiches from Fly By, another division of Flyer Enterprises, are a favorite meal for students. Jeevan Subramaniam (backward ballcap), a sophomore operations and supply chain management major, and Lucas Hannah, a sophomore chemical engineering major, make sandwiches and bag them up for Mary O’Connor to whisk out to campus while still warm. On this run, she makes stops at a student house on Lowes Street and at Roesch Library. “It’s great that we can bring food directly to places like the Roesch Library, so students can stay focused on their studies without having to leave to grab a bite to eat,” said O’Connor. The senior marketing major said she’s enjoying the beauty of the campus from her delivery cart:

“I’m soaking up every moment I have left here.”  

Photos by Sylvia Stahl '18 / Photos and Video by Brigham Fisher