UAlbany alums get down to business on campus

Supporting local business is an important element of many campus dining programs, especially when that local business is run by alumni.

Two retail food outlets owned by alumni at University at Albany (UAlbany) have become among the most popular dining options on the campus.

The Halal Shack, owned by Jamal Rasoully (Accounting, ‘11) is the revenue leader among the 17 foodservice operations in the Campus Center, with Nikos Café, run by Nik Schultz (Education, ‘09), not far behind.

“We have had local operators in here who were not alums,” said Steve Pearse, executive director of University Auxiliary Services at UAlbany. “But to be able to support alumni, especially young ones who are trying to build their careers, that’s special.”

The Halal Shack offers what Rasoully refers to as “American halal.” Customers choose one of three bowls—rice, lettuce or zoodles (zucchini noodles)—and then add fillings such as halal chicken or beef, hummus and falafel. Toppings include lettuce, onions, salsa and cheese and, if customers prefer, they can drizzle some of Rasoully’s Spin Sauces over it all. Other menu items include the naanadilla and the naan roll.

Nikos Café offers primarily a variety of wraps, gyros and souvlaki, as well as the traditional Greek salad. The spot is particularly well known for its breakfast wraps, which are served all day. The wraps are made with the customer’s choice of pita or soft tortilla; the Hercules Wrap is stuffed with fried eggs, feta and American cheese, green peppers, onions, home fries, sausage, bacon, ham and gyro meat, topped with either tzatziki sauce or one of two proprietary hot sauces.

Both Rasoully and Schultz grew up around food, but neither thought they’d ever operate a restaurant. Of the two, however, Rasoully was the more likely candidate. While in college, he had invested in several restaurants. He also had taken the white sauce his father had perfected in his New York City restaurants and brought it to market in 2016. Selling six varieties of what he labeled “Spin Sauce”—a play off the Pashto word for “white”—was how he first approached the university.

“Jamal sent me an email about Spin Sauce,” said Pearse. “It was being carried by some of the local food stores, such as Price Chopper. I tried it and was pleasantly surprised. I thought we could sell it in our C-store, and I wanted to get it in bulk into our residence halls.”

Pearse added that at about the same time as his initial conversations with Rasoully, he had been approached by an alumnus of another New York state school, Binghamton University, about introducing a concept called Chickenbap into the Campus Center. Pearse was intrigued by the concept, which was based around the Korean rice bowl dish called bimbibap, but he decided that he would prefer to support a graduate of his own university. He then approached Rasoully about developing a restaurant concept around Spin Sauce.

“I already had an idea of doing something like The Halal Shack, using the sauces,” Rasoully explained. “Steve gave the project legs, and even helped influence the menu. The Zoodles Bowl was his idea.”

By contrast, Schultz’s entry into the restaurant business was quite a bit more circuitous. Although he had worked in a restaurant in his teens, and his grandfather had owned a couple of restaurants, Schultz studied education. His initial desire was to be a teacher and a football coach—he played offensive line and was co-captain of the UAlbany football team in 2008—but after graduation he soon discovered, “I couldn’t make enough money to pay the bills.”

Schultz took a job in commercial construction and worked there for about a year, until he was struck by a car while crossing the street. Six months and a couple of surgeries later, his doctor advised him not to continue working in construction. Schultz had to consider yet another career path.

“Before I was in the accident, I met a guy who had a food trailer,” Schultz recalled. “He wanted to sell it. After the accident, I looked him up and bought it from him.”

In April 2011, he opened his food truck, called the Aegean, near the entrance to Dutch Apple Cruises, a company that runs day tours on the Hudson River. From there he built a following for his Greek food, traveling to music and other festivals in the area and generating some catering business. Then, in 2014, Anton’s Greek restaurant went up for sale.

Of German and Italian descent, Schultz had always enjoyed Greek food. For him, nothing locally compared to Anton’s, so when the opportunity to own the restaurant came up, he jumped at the chance.

All the while, he continued doing catering, and the UAlbany football team was one of his clients. When Sodexo won the contract to manage the foodservice program on campus, the company informed Schultz that he could no longer have the Great Danes’ business. So, when he learned that the Campus Center was being renovated, he thought of another way to return to campus.

At a golf outing sponsored by the football team, Schultz ran into some campus foodservice personnel and, as he recalled “made some jokes about wanting a spot in the Campus Center. I told them where my restaurant was and invited them to come over and try the food.”

Pearse did just that and was impressed with the food and the business operation itself. When the time came, University Auxiliary Services offered a retail spot to Nikos Café.

“I think it demonstrates Sodexo’s continued commitment to supporting the community that we serve,” said Kevin Donofrio, resident district manager for Sodexo. “We have created a bridge between the classroom and business. It sends a powerful message to the community at large and seeing UAlbany grads succeed is profoundly gratifying.”

Both men are eager to expand their brand beyond UAlbany; indeed, Rasoully already has Halal Shack units at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, and at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Other outlets are scheduled for San Diego State University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Rasoully said he has set a target of 10 units by the end of 2019, and is looking at healthcare, airport and corporate dining units as well as colleges.

Schultz is currently rebranding Anton’s as Nikos New Scotland—the restaurant sits on New Scotland Avenue in Albany—and plans to use the site as a test kitchen for ideas that can then be implemented elsewhere. He said he would like to expand in the college market, as well as some free-standing locations—something Rasoully said he is not interested in doing with Halal Shack.

Schultz and Rasoully agreed that they are not trying to outdo each other. In fact, Schultz has developed his own hot sauces that are offered at Nikos.

“We don’t compare sauces,” Schultz noted, “but students have their favorites. Sometimes we’ll see customers buying food from one unit and top it with sauce from the other.”

For more information, contact Lauren Mancuso, director of Marketing and Communications, On-site Service Solutions, Campus Services, UAlbany at 518-442-5954 or lauren.mancuso@sodexomagic.com.