Houston Market raises prices

Nearly four months after opening its doors, Houston Market has increased prices on a select group of items -- leaving many students questioning the decision. According to Larry Moneta, Associate Vice President of Campus Services, the price increase is part of the normal course of action for new dining services. "Since Houston Market is so new, you are guesstimating prices and the attractiveness of those prices," Moneta said. "When you open up a place like Houston, you have to wait a few months to see how the market will respond." Houston Market was introduced in September as a low-price alternative to other dining options on and around campus. While Houston's prices remain relatively competitive, the recent hike has bothered some students. "I am disappointed in the University for raising prices," College freshman Andrew Gomez said. "We do have to pay a lot to go here and for meal plans, and the least they could do is charge us affordable prices for food." Campus dining raised prices at the majority of the five eateries in the Market. At Ciao, the pasta and pizza eatery, a bowl of pasta and sauce now costs $3.75 instead of $3, and a slice of cheese pizza went up from $1.25 to $1.50. Prices also increased at The Wall, Houston Market's salad and deli eatery. Half of a hoagie increased in price from $2.85 to $3.25. At Blaze -- the grill area which serves fast foods such as hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken fingers -- the price of a cheeseburger went up from $2.80 to $2.90. College sophomore Kathryn Hague said the increase was unnecessary. "It bothers me because I don't think the food is worth the money," Hague said. "Houston Market is supposed to provide us with a reasonably-priced place to eat on campus besides the dining halls." Moneta said he realizes that students would not be happy with the increases, but he hopes students will understand nonetheless. "I am hoping that students who are savvy about the market will understand that we are still price conscious, and we do our best to keep them that way," he said. "We are not trying to make a profit off of the students." Moneta added that the price increases will not necessarily continue in future months. "We don't have any formal prices," Moneta said. "It is just a system of reviewing sales and revenues." Any further price increases will correspond to market prices, according to Moneta. "We are just as likely to lower prices on some things in order to do our best and comply with the market," he said. "Houston still has lower prices than most of the off-campus places around."