Student-run restaurant offers German contemporary cuisine

FORT WAYNE, Ind.—Purdue University Fort Wayne students in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management are serving up German contemporary cuisine at Am Wald, this semester’s student-run restaurant.

Am Wald is the restaurant inside the Holiday Inn Purdue Fort Wayne, located at 4111 Paul Shaffer Drive. It will be open every Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., September 27 through December 6, with the exception of November 22 due to the university’s Thanksgiving recess.

The restaurant is 100 percent student run, meaning the students manage all aspects of the operation, from creating the décor and planning the menu to ordering the supplies and generating profits, with a strong emphasis on the management of the restaurant. The end goal is to understand the ‘Art of Management’ through cost, revenue, and guest satisfaction.

“The real-world experience our students get with this restaurant can’t be matched,” said John Niser, chair of the department of hospitality and tourism management. “Along with taking care of every aspect of the restaurant, students also benefit from the profits because they go toward travel scholarships for students to see and experience different places across the country.”

Operating a successful restaurant requires tenacity and teamwork, so students learn very quickly how to work together to keep things up and running.

“It’s a lot of hard work in a short amount of time,” says Alexis Tucker, a junior majoring in hospitality management who is the marketing manager for Am Wald. “Five weeks into the semester, we hold our soft opening and we open to the public in week 6. We have to learn quickly and really work together as a team to make this a success.”

Because students are responsible for the overall management of the restaurant, including managing the supply of materials to keep the restaurant fully operational and marketing the restaurant through social media, there are a variety of positions available and roles to fill.

Walk-ins are welcome, but reservations are recommended and can be made by emailing [email protected] or calling 260-255-6538.

Members of the media are invited to cover the restaurant’s opening on Thursday, September 27. There will be an opportunity to interview students beginning at 10 a.m. and customers at 11:30 a.m.
For additional information, contact Nicole Hahn at 260-481-4106 (work), 260-760-7409 (cell), or [email protected]u.

###