Spear Saves the Day

Maclay’s New TruBru Look

Photo by Blair Bayliss/Maclay Andalusian

Maclay’s TruBru has a new look and ownership to kick off the school year.

This year, instead of being under the management of Social Kitchen, Maclay has started managing Tru Bru themselves with the help of the head of the lunch room’s  Jim Spear. Spear provides most of the food, and Jarod Bates works in the store every day. Last year, all food items were catered by Social Kitchen and different workers flowed in and out throughout the week. This approach ultimately did not work, so Maclay opted for Bates to be the familiar face in TruBru.

Bates has worked in the food industry for around 20 years working a variety of different jobs including 13 years running a food delivery service, and last year assisting in preparing sandwiches in the lunchroom. When Bates heard that Maclay was in need of someone to work in TruBru, he knew that the switch from the cafeteria to the store was what he needed to do.

“I knew it [Maclay] was a good team, but I knew that they needed help, and I wasn’t doing anything at the time,” Bates said. “Ultimately, I just like the opportunity to be able to serve folks.”

This year, there are many different food options along with some familiar items from previous years. Some of the most popular items this year are cake slices, cinnamon rolls, muffins, salads, bagels and hummus cups. Spear now provides TruBru with all the fresh goods, while a new partner, TC Bakery, who has been in business for five years provides the baked goods.

“She [TC Bakery] wanted an opportunity to see how well we would do in schools, and I thought it would be a perfect marriage,” Bates said. “So she is producing our muffins this year and she has also helped us add cake slices and cinnamon rolls.”

Students are liking the TruBru options significantly better than last year and are fond of the new look and management, but miss some of the old items.

“I think it definitely has improved, but I want the chocolate muffins back.” sophomore Manny Arisso said. 

As opposed to last year, the hours of the store will be slightly different. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, it will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with a slight break for Bates around 12:10 p.m and 12:40 p.m. On Wednesdays, it will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with Bates’ break being around 11:10 a.m. to 11:40 a.m.

“I think that the variety is very nice,” senior Samantha Lee said. “I think it's a change for the better.”

Overall, the new look of TruBru has been a hit with students of all grades at Maclay and will collect more feedback as different changes are made.