Press-Register on Bishop State’s Best Grill:
Two-year college system Chancellor Bradley Byrne recognizes
a financial sinkhole when he sees one. He recently ordered the permanent
closing of Bishop State Community College’s Best Grill, a “culinary
laboratory” that cooked up an astonishing $1.7 million in losses in a few
years.
The decision to close the restaurant was a no-brainer.
Responsible public officials don’t throw away wads of public money.
But the end of this educational experiment that failed
miserably leaves two perplexing questions: How did the Best Grill lose so much
money in just four years? And why didn’t former Bishop State President Yvonne
Kennedy and her administration act quickly to stop the program from
hemorrhaging scarce college funds?
The Best Grill’s mission was to give students in Bishop
State’s culinary arts program an opportunity to acquire real-world experience
in the food service business. The idea had merit, but the execution evidently
was so flawed the restaurant provided few educational benefits for students.
Chancellor Byrne offered this damning judgment:
