Chartwells taking over Abstract Café this fall, DSU blames $100K deficit
Staff “blindsided” by the takeover
The Dalhousie Student Union is transferring management of the Abstract Café to its food service provider after less than a year of operations.
Will Jones, DSU vice-president of finance and operations, announced the decision to Abstract Café employees in a March 13 email obtained by the Dalhousie Gazette.
“In conjunction with renewing our Food Services Agreement, the DSU would partner with Chartwells and have them assume management of the Abstract Café,” said Jones in the email.
Chartwells has been the food service provider for the DSU since 2012. It currently manages most dining services in the Student Union Building.
In an email to the Gazette, Jones says the decision was made to prioritize initiatives that directly benefit students “rather than continue subsidizing a space with limited student engagement.”
“Ultimately, we determined we could deliver a virtually identical level of service to students and societies without losing $100K annually that could be better directed toward our broader membership,” he said in the email.
Jones said the management shift will eliminate a nearly $100,000 deficit in the DSU’s 2025-26 operating budget. The savings have already been directed towards student members and society grants, as well as a $0.50 hourly wage increase to part-time DSU staff.
Abstract staff caught off guard by management shift
Liv Brennan, the café’s staff and bookings coordinator and floor supervisor, said the management change came as a shock to Abstract Café employees.
“We were blindsided,” Brennan said. “We had no idea until it was too late.”
The café will close for the summer on April 11, before reopening under corporate management in the fall.
The café’s previous manager, Lenka Tomlinson, left her position at the Abstract Café in early February. She spearheaded the space’s transformation from the Grawood last summer, before the Abstract Café’s grand opening in September.
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Since then, the café has been operating without a manager. Brennan has been leading the staff as one of two co-cordinators ever since.
Chartwells agreed to give current Abstract employees the first right of refusal for fall positions. However, the co-ordinator positions will be eliminated, according to an email from Jones obtained by the Gazette.
The DSU claims the shift in operations will ensure the café’s longevity, but Brennan sees it as a betrayal of students.
“It’s really concerning that the DSU would be so fast to give up student jobs like that,” she said. “I don’t want to lose my job, but where a lot of my concern lies is with the way that the DSU is handling these things.”
Brennan said the information from Chartwells suggests that student staff may be relocated to other campus franchises, rather than retaining their employment at the Abstract.
“The DSU is supposed to be student-centred and propelling students forward, [they have] forgotten what student-run spaces like the Abstract are all about,” said Brennan. “It’s not about making money, it’s about the opportunities, the connections and the community that is built.”
