New Marketplace C–Store Widens Campus Shopping Options
Just a few of the many options available at the new convience store located within Marketplace at Upper West Cedar. Photo by Eric Johnston '27.
The Marketplace at Upper West Cedar has expanded its product options, introducing a range of products that more closely mirror items offered at an off-campus retail location.
Kristina Ortiz, director of retail dining at Marist University, said that a common response to surveys that she and her team conducted virtually was the desire to have a convenience store on campus.
“We started the conversation at the end of last semester,” said Ortiz.
Marketplace was deemed a prime location for the C-Store due to the space it had available and the fact that its history and position as a food location could still be honored.
Accessibility was a priority, too. “I did make sure that everything we offered here could be heated in some capacity in a microwave," said Ortiz.
Director of Community Relations, Gabriella Licini ‘23, pointed out, “You have a lot of upperclassmen here and they have kitchens,” highlighting the emphasis placed on things that could realistically be prepared by a college student.
Despite this, it was still important that the venue was accessible for all students, regardless of where they live or what grade they are in
For further research, Ortiz walked to CVS, Rite Aid and Chestnut Market to get a sense of how demanding a walk it was and the kinds of products those locations offered. She also researched other colleges and the offerings their convenience stores had.
“We talked through what we thought would be a good foundation and a good first approachable menu to first introduce this to students,” said Ortiz.
Ortiz said another priority of her team was pricing. “We are very aware of students’ concerns with pricing,” she said, emphasizing their commitment to reasonable pricing and openness to feedback.
The new convience store within Marketplace at Upper West Cedar. Photo by Lilian DeFilippis '26.
She also ensured that pack sizes and product sizes, where applicable, were displayed in-app so students were aware of how much they were purchasing.
When it comes to the menu, the C-Store aims to have a wide variety of products, with distinct sections like grocery, health and beauty, frozen items and even late-night products like Hot Pockets.
“We’re still adding more, we’re only a month in,” said Licini, who emphasized that the team is still looking for feedback.
“We always make sure we have healthy food options, options for students that may be vegetarian or looking for something high in protein,” Ortiz added.
They are still satisfied with the level of product that they currently offer, though. “Students have enjoyed the variety. They’ve enjoyed the fact that they can run and grab toilet paper if they run out,” said Ortiz.
Ortiz was also proud of the response time that her team has had with feedback.
“Within a week of receiving feedback from students and their parents, we were introducing new items that were either in the pipeline already or gave us a new sense of what students want to see,” said Ortiz, who also mentioned that the team is considering getting feedback via an Instagram post or poll in the near future.
It has been a successful beginning of the semester for the C-Store monetarily as well; sales are exceeding expectations.
“In the first few weeks, we were actually doing more than we were doing in the 12 hours a day, seven days a week of last year,” said Ortiz, who also mentioned that they sold out of their stock much faster than the three-day timeline that they anticipated.
Ortiz and the Gourmet team are still looking towards the future.
“Do we add pasta? Do we add jarred sauce? Items that [students] can have ready to go when they get out of class late... like everything you need to make mac and cheese with your roommates at night,” said Ortiz.
Another item that the team is considering is a branded reusable Marist tote bag that students can purchase to pick up their items in.
Additionally, the numbers on social media are also doing a great deal of talking, with one post about the C-Store getting over 5.5k views in only 24 hours.
From whichever angle you look at it, the Dining Services team is excited about their prospects with the Marketplace C-Store.
“It’s only going up from here,” said Ortiz.