Over the past several decades, there have been a few local restaurants and saloons that have graduated to the status of local institutions. From The Other Place to Randy’s up the River, the Hickey Tavern and, of course, The Burton, these places are well known to anyone who’s spent more than an academic year in Allegany, New York.
Last winter, a new restaurant and bar opened on Main Street that many presumed would compete with other Main Street businesses right away. Still a startup, it has gradually created a reputation for itself by having one of the community’s hottest and most diverse menus.
Fusion on Main, owned by Aaron Hess, could very well be changing the way local college-town restaurants sell food. It is introducing its very own, unique meal plan to be made available for students at St. Bonaventure University and the people of the surrounding town of Allegany.
“So, years ago, I went to Alfred State, and Alfred State allows some vendors on main street-businesses to use the swipes. So, I thought that was a very cool idea to bring students to the community and give back to local businesses as well,” said Hess. “Everything is scratch made. Sauces are from scratch, etcetera. And, I figured if I can make something affordable enough for them, that I could just give everybody a [healthy] option… our food is healthy in general, [with] great ingredients at affordable prices.”
Fusion is offering two meal plans. The first comes with 50 meals for $575.00, allowing the consumer to save $126.00, which equates to 11 free meals. The second option comes with 100 meals for $1,100, allowing the consumer to save $304.00 which equates to 28 free meals. Both meal plans include every meal on their menu worth up to $10.95 with refillable, non-alcoholic beverages.
“We’ve sold a few to students already, and we’ve sold a few to local families,” said Hess. “I just really wanted to draw everybody in just to see the ambiance in here…I’m kind of hidden, I’m new, nobody really knows about us, so just the draw of this and the free meal aspect I figured would pull the students…it’s for anybody that wants to enjoy.”
“I think it’s a great opportunity for students who live off-campus,” said Tyler Fenton, a senior sports studies major at St. Bonaventure. “It’s just way more convenient for us who live around the area just to go over there, especially with the great food that they have.”
“Finding out that Fusion is now offering their own meal plan was shocking to me,” said Rob Gerow, a senior cybersecurity major at Bonaventure. He, like Fenton, lives off campus. “I have not heard of a restaurant [with a meal plan] that students who live off campus can purchase instead of paying for a meal plan at the Hickey.”
“We are unaware of any local restaurant’s meal plan offerings. We don’t know what effect it might have,” said Nicole Clark, Northwest Regional General Manager of Aramark. “St. Bonaventure administration is dedicated to providing high quality, nutritional offerings at an affordable price to our students and will continue to meet with the students and make adjustments to its menu and offerings based on student feedback.”
During his short time in Allegany, Hess has seen and experienced the good that comes with being a part of the St. Bonaventure community. Starting now, he wants Fusion to be an important part of its food landscape for years to come.
“Olean has a populous that’s much larger than Allegany,” said Hess. “But the Allegany and St. Bonaventure community together is a tight community…and that’s why I chose Allegany because the students support a lot of the local businesses here, and I wanted to contribute to it and also be a part of the comradery that St. Bonaventure has.”
By Jared Leve, News Editor
levejl16@bonaventure.edu
