Taco Cabana Research Report

Andrew Lueker, Anna Trevino, Carly Barnes

Spencer Bierschwale, and Mary Hubert

Taco Cabana Stakeholders

Main Stakeholders:

Campus Auxiliary (15% of our resources will go towards the Campus Auxiliary)

Why are they important- The TLU campus auxiliary is important because they have to approve of the dining option before it can go in front of the students.

How much do they care- The mission of Campus Auxiliary is to honor God by providing the students, faculty, staff, and administration with the goods and services they need to accomplish their academic and departmental goals, while maintaining good stewardship of the university’s resources.

How are we going to address them- In our proposal we plan on showing the campus auxiliary and Sodexo management all of the benefits of bringing in a chain restaurant such as Taco Cabana. Once the proposal is approved we will move forward and work towards reaching out to the students.

Screenshot of an online interview with Kyle Wych:

Students (15% of our resources will go towards the students)

Why are they important- The students of TLU are the primary consumers of food on campus, meaning they will be the vast majority of clientele for the new Taco Cabana.

How much do they care- Students would like to see a change in the hours for the current on campus dining. Some of the on campus dining options have limited hours and can be hard to meet for some students. By bringing in Taco Cabana it will be open 24 hours which will allow students to grab food whenever they want. This will also help students who are doing late night studying. Instead of having to go off campus to get food somewhere, they will have an on campus dining option.  Students also want more diversity in their options, so adding more ethnic food will satisfy that. (“Top Trends in College Food Service.” Nestlé Professional, 16 June 2015, www.nestleprofessional.us/trends/top-trends-college-food-service. There is a rising demand for more ethnic food options in campus dining, therefore tacos and other Tex-Mex items would probably be wanted more than burgers, pizza, etc.)

How are we going to address them- Some students that pay for their own tuition may not be happy that it will be going up if this Taco Cabana is implemented, but the 24-Hour service as well as possible alcoholic options should appeal to the students of TLU.

Parents (10% of our resources will go towards the parents)

Why are they important- Many parents pay for their son/daughter’s tuition which will be the primary way in which this Taco Cabana is funded. Parents may also be concerned about tuition rising if the TC is implemented.

How much do they care- Parents of vegetarian students will most likely be happy that a primary need for their child is being addressed. It will also be convenient for parents who are visiting their children on campus and need something to eat. This also eliminates some safety concerns for their children. Students won’t need to drive off campus for a late night snack while studying and by serving alcohol on campus it will eliminate some drinking and driving.

How are we going to address them- It may be a harder sell to parents as their wallets are being directly affected, but parents will understand the necessity of late night dining on campus and having a variety. Parents may also be concerned of the decision to serve alcohol on campus, but measures will be taken to ensure that alcohol does not fall into the hands of underage drinkers, as no alcohol will be allowed outside of the restaurant. (O'Rourke, Ciara. “State Sen. Jeff Wentworth Says Texas Universities Don't Have Bars on Campus Because It's against the Law.” Politifact, Poynter Institute, 26 Feb. 2011, www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2011/feb/26/jeff-wentworth/state-sen-jeff-wentworth-says-texas-universities-d/. Multiple universities around Texas serve alcohol on campus including Texas A&M, Texas State, UT Austin, and University of Texas at Dallas, which limits legal students to 2 drinks.)

Staff/ Faculty (9% of our resources will go towards the staff and faculty)

Why are they important- TLU staff and faculty are quintessential stakeholders. They make a daily difference through their work, interactions with others, teamwork, and willingness to volunteer when the need arises. The staff and faculty make TLU a special place and we want to make sure they’ll be happy with new improvements on campus. Based on our research the staff and faculty are looking for new dining options on campus and they’re not worried about alcohol being served on campus. Some faculty would like to see Taco Cabana in its own area so alcohol isn’t being served in general areas, but besides that there aren’t any major hesitations or concerns.

How much do they care- Although the staff and faculty are not the top stakeholder, they are still a main stakeholder. After conducting interviews with faculty we saw that the TLU staff and faculty are not as concerned about Taco Cabana coming to campus as some of the other stakeholders. During an interview with a faculty member the suggestion to serve alcohol in a separate area on campus was brought up and we plan on looking more into this.

How are we going to address them- Going forward we plan to address the staff and faculty by publicizing Taco Cabana coming to campus. By doing this we are hoping to excite the staff and faculty and get them ready for the new dining option on campus. To address the concern of a few of the faculty members, we also plan on looking into separate areas on campus to add the Taco Cabana restaurant.

Media (9% of our resources will go towards media)

Why are they important- The media coverage of TLU’s decision to bring an alcohol serving Taco Cabana to campus is important because the media’s take on this decision will affect the community’s views and actions. It is important for those involved to create a positive media image so that this is conveyed to all viewers.

How much do they care- Most media outlets care about what people will read and buy. The media will care because bringing a chain restaurant that serves alcohol to a small campus is an unusual, but not an unheard of decision. The media will care because readers and viewers from the Seguin community, the TLU community, and the past and future TLU community will care.

How are we going to address them- We will focus on all of the benefits of bringing a Taco Cabana to the TLU campus. Most likely the media’s main focus will be on the fact that the restaurant will serve alcohol so we will first address this issue. We will stress the fact that this Taco Cabana will function as a legal and safe way for TLU students to consume alcohol. By emphasizing that it is both TLU’s and Taco Cabana’s policy to never provide minors with alcohol and to ID every purchaser of alcohol we will address the media’s concern of minors having access to and consuming alcohol. We will also focus on the idea that this Taco Cabana is on campus and so will hopefully decrease instances of driving after drinking and other accidents. We will show that by providing an on campus, convenient place to enjoy an alcoholic beverage all TLU students, and the Seguin community will be safer.

McGee, Kate. “UT Austin to Sell Alcohol at Longhorn Athletic Games Starting Friday.” KUT, 27 Feb. 2014, kut.org/post/ut-austin-sell-alcohol-longhorn-athletic-games-starting-friday.

Other Stakeholders (We plan on putting 6% of our resources into these stakeholders (42% total)):

A few of our other important stakeholders are:

Alumni - Though they are past students who now put their hard-earned money back into the institution, we don’t predict they will have a large negative response to adding a new food option. There may be feelings of jealousy as they might have wanted a Taco Cabana, but they would also support new students and what they want.

Taco Cabana - Since this is the company we are using for the new dining choice, there is no reason we need to make a public address to them to convince them of anything or relay any new information.

Lutheran Church - Having a Taco Cabana on campus does not make any political or religious statement, therefore we see no need to address the Church at this time.

Local Universities - Other universities are at least 30 minutes away from us and are not at risk of being in competition with us in terms of food offerings, so though we may consult them on how they serve alcohol safely to students, we will not address them as a stakeholder at this time.

AA Groups - We understand that making alcohol more readily available to students is a source of potential danger. We are not going to initially address the AA groups around us unless we become aware of a bigger threat including alcohol.

Seguin Community - As a university, we strive to involve ourselves with the Seguin community as much as possible, but at the same time, we are our own community too and we plan on welcoming any customers who live in Seguin even if they are not TLU students. If a resident has an issue with the options we give students, they should understand that they do not need to come back on campus and can go to the other Taco Cabana location in Seguin.

Vegetarians- Most vegetarian dining options are located off campus. Taco Cabana has several vegetarian options such as bowls, cheese quesadillas, burritos, and a variety of vegetarian taco options.

All of these stakeholders are important, but will not require as many resources put into them.