Nick Parisi wants to be a manager at a private country club.

He has always been around country clubs and really enjoys cooking.

The junior family and consumer sciences hospitality major is learning firsthand at Eastern.

The student-run restaurant called Pantera, which means Panther in Spanish, served its third meal this week.

Parisi helps other FCS students in Pantera, a student-run restaurant that is a pilot program that gives students hands-on experience with running a restaurant.

“We are learning a lot here about customer service and schedules that we could not learn in a classroom,” Parisi said.

Students from Eastern’s FCS hospitality management program are getting a feel for how to run a restaurant.

Students in commercial quantity foods productions class are in the program. The 13 students in the class are broken into four groups and each group must run the restaurant for two nights.

The group in charge for the night serves as the managers. The managers plan the meal, budget the meal, find the needed recipes, assist in preparing the meal and decide a schedule of the night.

The students working the kitchen wear chefs’ coats and hats while waiters wear black pants and a white shirt.

Managers dress in professional attire and greet each person that attends. Patrons review the class based on speed, courtesy, cleanliness, atmosphere, food presentation, taste, theme, server knowledge and more.

The reviews are used to make the next week better for the customers. Each week has a different theme. Themes upcoming or already done are Cuban, Cajun, Italian, Mediterranean, Caribbean, Greek, Mexican and Hawaiian.

The food is not the only thing that follows a theme. The students also provide music and decorations.

The meals are served on Tuesday nights in Klehm Hall. Anyone can attend with a reservation. The meal costs $9.50 per person.

“So far a lot of professors have attended because students don’t want to pay $9.50 for a meal,” said Michelle Grygo, junior family and consumer sciences major.

The students must budget the food at $8.86 per person, the extra money goes to the state for taxes. No gratuity is accepted.

The class was created by FCS Chair Jim Painter.

He got the idea from his former institution, the University of Illinois, which has the student-run restaurant, Spice Box.

The Spice Box is a restaurant associated with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Hospitality Management program.

In this course, each senior is responsible for planning, staffing, executing and evaluating a financially viable themed fine-dining meal.

Each Spice Box meal has two menu selections: a Prix Fixe four-course meal option and a Special two-course meal option.

Specialty wine and beverages are available. Prices vary from $14-18 for a two-course meal and $16-22 for a four-course meal.

Kathy Rhodes, the course instructor for Eastern’s student-run restaurant, said the events have been going well so far. It has been organized and on schedule, she said.

Rhodes said she pushes customer service and fun.

If students do not smile during the events, she will fail them, she said.

For reservations call 581-6677 before the event.

Junior Nikki Beck strains maraschino cherries for Tuesday night’s dessert at “Pantera,” the family and consumer sciences restaurant. (John Bailey/The Daily Eastern News)

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