The Compton Union Building and WSU administration will welcome the Markel family back to Pullman as the final food vendor in the newly renovated CUB.
The Markels, Greg, Carla and Shane, will bring three food service options including a full-service restaurant, a coffee shop and an on-the-go seafood establishment.
The food vendor selection process has been underway since August 2007. After numerous applications and presentations, the Associated Students of WSU, the Graduate and Professional Students Association and CUB administration have chosen a vendor that they believe will satisfy the Pullman community.
The Markels, a family of WSU alumni, will be opening Markel Coffee House, The Sea Swiper and a full-service restaurant Dupus Boomer’s completing the list of available food options in the union building.
“I am confident that each of these establishments will meet the students’ needs and bring something unique to the CUB unlike anything we’ve ever seen on campus,” said Kasey Webster, ASWSU president. “It is exciting to bring someone here who understands and loves the WSU culture and community.”
For the Markels, this represents a return to Pullman. They started their first restaurant, The Sea Swiper, here in the early ‘70s. The Markels owned and operated the eatery, a fish and chips restaurant and fish market deli, in the building where Café Moro currently operates. After many years of being away from Pullman and developing other restaurants and businesses, the family is eager to return to the Cougar community they once called home.
“As I wrote to Barry Johnston (assistant V.P. for Business and Finance) after our presentation interview with his formidable selection committee, the warm words of ‘Welcome Home’ from him were music to our ears and especially heartfelt by me,” said Greg Markel, owner of Washington Securities and Investment Corporation.
Markel Coffee House will provide various espresso drinks and pastries to sit and enjoy or to grab-and-go on your way to across campus. Although serving hours are not finalized, coffee and espresso will be available before and after the adjacent eateries open and close.
The Sea Swiper’s menu will be a concert of seafood items ranging from fish and oysters and chips, to crab and cheese sandwiches, and clam and salmon chowder. The Sea Swiper will also offer seafood specials such as seared ahi tuna, Chilean bass and oysters Rockefeller in the full-service restaurant.
Dupus Boomer’s restaurant will offer a variety of food including hamburgers, steaks, stews, as well as specialty items in an upscale environment. “An award-winning chef has been hired to develop our menu and train our new team,” said Markel. The restaurant will serve wine, beer and spirits.
“The addition of Dupus Boomer’s establishes a new level of dining experience,” said Kathleen Hatch, executive director of University Recreation and the Student Union. “It fills an important role previously held by the Regency Room, as a place for a business lunch or a special night out, and it does so in the heart of our campus. We could not have found a better partner to add an extra wow to the CUB experience and serve the university community.”
“In an effort to create a destination restaurant, the Markel’s will offer a dining experience that can range from casual to high-end dining. The restaurant build-out will have a dining area, a small banquet room, and will use the balcony overlooking Rogers Field,” said Sean Greene, Compton Union Building director. He said the build-out of the restaurant will cost about $2.9 million, the highest amount being spent by any CUB vendor.
The name Dupus Boomer’s originates from a cartoon created by Dick Donnell that ran in the Richland, Wash., Villager weekly newspaper from 1945-1950. The much-loved cartoon was a humorous portrayal of the lives of people living in federal housing in the Richland area during the pre and post-World War II era.
The CUB will open its doors on August 11, 2008. For more information on the vendors or the CUB Renovation project, visit www.cub.wsu.edu.
