Sahara owner still seeks answers after unexplained eviction from SUB

A local, family-run restaurant is still picking up the pieces and waiting for answers months after being replaced in the SUB by a national chain.

Helen Nesheiwat, owner of Sahara Middle Eastern Eatery, said that last spring the University told her that students expressed a desire to have Sahara replaced, and for a Subway to open in its place.

“The students don’t want a chain,” she said. “If they love their students and they want the best for their students, they should listen to the students. They should go for what the students want.”

Sahara Middle Eastern Eatery was active in the SUB for six years, she said, until last April, when she received an eviction notice, via an overnight letter, from Chartwells Headquarters in New York.

“This letter constitutes notice of termination,” the letter, dated April 21, states. “Kindly arrange for removal of any of your property at the University of New Mexico campus on May 22nd, 2015.”

Paul Wilson Scott, Chartwells’ resident district manager at UNM — who agreed to speak with the Daily Lobo only through email, citing company policy — said these types of moves are common.

“Brand locations change all of the time within campus dining operations,” he said in the email correspondence. “New brands are changed out so students can experience variety.”

That variety brought in Subway, a national chain, which Scott said was preferred over the Middle Eastern Eatery. In the case of Sahara, he said, student surveys along with feedback expressed a need for change, indicating concerns about the location.

“In addition, contractual terms were not being met despite best efforts,” he said in the email. “When data showed that students lost interest in dining at the location, it was time to change it in order to enhance the dining experience for students. The new brand is doing well and traffic is up.”

Scott did not elaborate on the contractual obligations not met, citing Chartwells’ policy about disclosing specific vendor contract compliance details.

A 177-page petition, each page containing 10 lines for signatures, says otherwise. By the Daily Lobo’s count, 1,703 people signed the petition. Though not every page on the petition has 10 signatures, most of them do, and some pages even have more than 10 signatures.

The “Petition to keep our local businesses running in the Student Union Building/Med 2,” as it was titled, was open for students, faculty and residents near UNM “on keeping Times Square Deli Express and Sahara Express in the Student Union Building, and also the Med 2 Building.”

“We, the undersigned, are concerned citizens who urge our leaders to act now to keep these local businesses running,” the petition reads.

Another petition started at Change.org, titled “Save Sahara and Times Square Deli,” had accumulated an additional 1,224 signatures, according to the website.

The termination and eviction notice came without warning or reason, Nesheiwat said.

“With no cause, just like this, overnight? Send us a letter?” she said “‘You have 30 days to leave.’ Is this fair?”

After receiving the letter in April, Nesheiwat attempted to speak with those in charge of Chartwells at UNM, through all means, but she said she was never given the opportunity.

“’OK, we’re leaving, that’s fine. But what’s the reason?’” she said. “Just give us one reason, why you took us out. They said, ‘we can’t tell you.’”

Nesheiwat said she was finally able to speak to a lawyer at Chartwells’ main office in White Plains, New York. A letter to her stated, “it’s not in our hands, it’s in the university’s hands.” The communication stopped there, and Nesheiwat was forced to accept the removal, she said.

In defense of the decision to remove Sahara, yet still provide diverse food options, Scott said “UNM Food will maintain availability of Middle Eastern favorites like hummus in both in the Mercado and in La Posada.”

Impact on Sahara’s business

Nesheiwat said the business had always been successful in the SUB and was doing as well as ever. Many students enjoyed the atmosphere and variety Sahara brought to the SUB’s food options.

“Students love us so much, they miss us so much. We treat them like family, we don’t treat them like when you go to Burger King, McDonald’s or Subway,” she said. “This is authentic food. This is healthy food.”

The closure of the SUB location not only affected her, but also the 11 employees who had to be let go as a result.

Tony Yousif was manager of Sahara in the SUB for nearly five years and loved the business along with the family that owns it. He said the job allowed him to pay his bills and rent, but he lost hours with the location closed.

“They treat me like a son, you know,” he said. “It’s a family business — not just for me, for everybody who works for them.”

Aside from paying bills and supporting himself, Yousif sent money to family in Iraq, he said, which he is now no longer able to do.

“Now I can’t help myself, I can’t help them,” he said. “Of course I feel bad, for me and my family too, because it’s hard to live there and it’s not easy to find a job over there.”

Yousif said he is currently searching for a new job and hopes to get back on his feet soon. In the meantime, he said Nesheiwat tries to give him hours at the main location, but there just isn’t enough to do.

“Here, they don’t really need me, but they’re trying to help me,” he said. “Still, it’s not enough.”

For Nesheiwat, the employees of Sahara and many students who prefer the local eatery over Subway, the vague answers from Chartwells are not adequate.

“We have a right to know,” she said. “We’re still trying to recover. It affects our life so much. I swear to God, I mean it.”

Matthew Reisen is a senior reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.