KaTom Restaurant Supply & Vol Dining Partner for a New Era

On the University of Tennessee at Knoxville's campus, you can forget the stereotypical college diet. UT students don't have to settle for the greasy dives, fast food, and instant noodles typically associated with college food, nor are they restricted to impersonal cafeterias and dining halls.

Thanks to the partnership between Vol Dining and KaTom Restaurant Supply, UT students can now choose from a vast array of healthy, sustainable, and independent concepts across campus. From grills offering Mediterranean dishes to coffee shops founded by UT alumni, these options are available to students via on-campus meal plans, ensuring quality dining is as integral to the Volunteer experience as rigorous academics and Big Orange game days.

Local, Independent Concepts Revitalize Vol Dining

In just a few years, UT's on-campus foodservice underwent a significant transformation. Though on-campus food options were always available to students, the University decided to fundamentally change the way it approaches student meals by creating a dedicated UT leadership team for Vol Dining in 2021, opting for a more personalized and unique approach than the contract business model it utilized for decades.

"There hasn’t been a dedicated UT Vol Dining leadership team in place for more than twenty years to live in the day-to-day. Everything was run directly by Aramark with high-level UT leadership oversight," Vol Dining Property Manager Marc Dyrness said, referring to the global foodservice and facilities provider that's a mainstay in higher education campuses across the country.

Dyrness joined UT in his current role three years ago, assisting with the university's efforts to take a more direct, in-house approach to its dining options. Vol Dining chose to shift away from the chain-heavy dining it had focused on to a model that prioritizes unique, local, sustainable, and independent options for students.

Rather than focus primarily on globally recognized brands, Vol Dining introduced multiple concepts unique to UT's campus or to Knoxville as a whole. To name just a few, the Student Union's Steak 'n Shake made way for Big Orange Grill—a burger-and-fries eatery serving farm-to-table beef raised on the UT Northeast Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center —while the Subway was replaced by Union Deli, a sandwich shop specializing in high-quality meats. Another Subway location in Fred Brown Hall and the Einstein Bros. Bagels in the Haslam Business Building were replaced with K Brew Express locations, a Knoxville-based coffee shop founded by former UT student Pierce LaMacchia. Volunteer Hall's Dunkin' was then replaced by Status Dough—an artisanal donut shop founded by another proud UT alum in Joe Seiber.

"It's a focus," Dyrness said of the transition to unique concepts from big-name brands. "Going to self-branding allows more direct control, so that it's a conversation with UT and our food service provider, as opposed to meeting national brand standards on required 'refreshes.'"

Vol Dining Associate Director of Marketing Rebecca McKnight elaborates on the benefits of this concept.

"It gives us the flexibility on menu changes and equipment we may need," she said." And we can design it the way that we anticipate the need, but then also design it in a way where it's easier to flip to something different if the need changes."

"If [a] concept doesn’t work as well as expected, we can switch it just about any other concept or fare to meet campus needs," Dyrness said.

With the Student Union filling more than a thousand orders a day, the strategy of prioritizing unique concepts over familiar brands seems to be paying off. Gesturing toward Big Orange Grill, Dyrness frames its success succinctly: "It's doing more than a Steak 'n Shake."

Vol Dining & KaTom

An undertaking of this scope requires reliable business partners at every step of the process, and when it came to a trustworthy foodservice supplier, Vol Dining put its trust in KaTom. When Aramark, the university’s contracted foodservice provider, was the primary force behind campus dining, it primarily utilized a contract with one of KaTom's competitors, but when Vol Dining was created, the decision was made to utilize KaTom's state contract to a greater extent.

"I'd say 90 percent of everything is now, equipment-wise on the dining side, is going through KaTom," Dyrness said.

Though there are multiple factors to Vol Dining's preference for using KaTom, one stood above all else: KaTom's local presence and availability. KaTom Strategic Accounts Manager Josh Harrison serves as the liaison between the restaurant supply company and the University.

"Local is the big thing," Dyrness said. "It's a local rep. I have a weekly standing meeting with the sales group, with Josh. Challenges go up and it's a phone call away, and things are immediately addressed and handled very quickly…we have someone we can count on, and so far, everything we've got, if it's not right, it's taken care of within 24 hours.

"All the communication is done quickly. It all can be on a text or phone call. Honestly, the only time we email is off of quotes; everything else is direct contact."

McKnight also emphasized the benefits of having a locally based rep.

"The fact that we can get a representative to come on site, to walk the space, to be accessible…it helps the communication piece that tends to be the hindrance with larger projects. You don't have as many middlemen."

Mazèvo, the Mediterranean concept located in the Student Union, serves as an example of how KaTom continues to go above and beyond to make sure its customers get what they need when they need it.

"The counter for Mazèvo…it was an extended time to get it in," McKnight said. "We were concerned about having it in in time for school to open, so Josh prioritized that project for us as much as possible.

As UT furthers the transition to local, independent concepts, Vol Dining's relationship with KaTom continues to evolve and expand.

"I'm leaning hard on Josh," Dyrness said. "He's got a lot of accounts, but I keep him pretty busy."