The fridges in Trillium are filled with fresh salads, ripe fruit and yogurts — but one thing is conspicuously missing. Sushi production has been suspended in all Cornell Dining eateries, except Robert Purcell Marketplace Eatery, since Monday.
“I was just informed today that sushi, at least now, is discontinued across the campus,” the bartender in Atrium Café in Sage Hall said on Wednesday morning. “I don’t know whether it is forever or just a temporary thing.”
Many students who regularly enjoy sushi in the dining halls were dismayed by the news.
“It is usually the food I eat to lift my spirits when I am having a rough day,” said Elise Cording ‘20. “So I hope it is back soon for me and other folks whose comfort food is sushi.”
The Cornell Dining website announced on Monday that “due to a supply chain problem with our Sushi With Gusto vendor, Cornell Dining is not offering sushi for sale at this time. Until further notice, Sushi with Gusto and Shizen products won’t be available in our eateries.”
Karen E. Brown, director of campus life marketing and communications, who oversees Cornell’s sushi supply, further explained that the Cornell Dining team was dissatisfied by its vendor but is working towards a solution to bring sushi back on campus.
“Our Cornell Dining team did not feel we were getting the consistency, quality and volume from our sushi provider that we expect and our customers deserve, despite our efforts to resolve the supply concerns we brought up,” Brown said. “We know sushi is a popular offering throughout campus, so we are working diligently to come up with a solution as quickly as possible.”
Many students also expressed concern about the declining quality of sushi sold on campus.
“Quite frankly, I felt that the taste declined since last year, so maybe they should go for a different vendor since they are having problems anyways,” said Karen Brown ’18.
Leo Levy ’20 added that the sushi supplied through Cornell Dining was “prohibitively expensive.”
However, Shizen Sushi blamed the discontinuance on a “emergency staffing issue,” and said that they will resume sushi production on the Cornell campus next Tuesday. It remains unclear whether administrative issues with the quality of their product will affect that timeline.
In the meantime, sushi enthusiasts can turn to a variety of local alternatives, such as Robert Purcell Marketplace Eatery’s sushi station and the That’s How I Roll food truck on North Campus. Collegetown favorites like Plum Tree and Miyake also remain available.
Still, many students said they were surprised by the lack of a more thorough explanation for the disappearance of Cornell’s sushi supply.
“It seems very unusual that there is no explanation for this kind of supply shortage,” said Brady Kellum ’20.