April 6, 2017

The Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) will be permanently closing its Food and Beverage Operations, including the Highland Pub, the Higher Grounds Coffee Shop, the Ladle, and catering services, effective June 15, 2017.

This decision comes after years of the SFSS Food and Beverage Operations annually incurring a deficit. In 2016, the operations saw a loss of $348,294, which is comparable to previous years. Although many efforts have been made to reduce operating costs, the SFSS is once again facing a significant deficit. Our Board inherited the mandate to reduce the deficit to an appropriate amount, however this mandate remains infeasible.

Over the years, the usage of the Food and Beverage Operations has steadily decreased. In addition, the SFSS Food and Beverage Operations have been inhibited by factors, such as increased campus competition, rising food costs and high operating costs.  Cumulatively, these factors have rendered the continuation of the Food and Beverage Operations to be fiscally irresponsible.

According to the SFSS President, Larissa Chen, closing SFSS Food and Beverage Operations is amongst one of the most difficult decisions the SFSS Board has made. “Each year, the Food and Beverage Operations faces a large deficit, subsidized using student dollars. The Board believe it is in the best interest of students to not continue to run this deficit.”

The Board looks forward to exploring potential opportunities to put these student dollars to better use.

“We know that some students enjoy pub nights and the social gathering spaces and we did not take this decision lightly”, said VP Student Life Curtis Pooghkay. “We are grateful to our staff and management for working so hard for the Food and Beverage Operations over the years.”

CONTACT:

Curtis Pooghkay,
SFSS VP Student Life
Board of Directors
vpstudentlife@sfss.ca

Larissa Chen,
SFSS President
Board of Directors
president@sfss.ca