In late April, the made-to-order Roslin’s Sushi service located in Collis Café announced its temporary unavailability because it had been operating without a permit to make sushi on College premises. Since then, made-to-order sushi has remained unavailable, but concerned students need only wait for the vendor to attain an additional permit, said the director of dining services Jon Plodzik.
“Roslin’s is seeking a permit that’s being requested by the state in order to prepare sushi on site at Collis,” Plodzik said. “We certainly will return the service as soon as they have the proper documentation to do so from the state.”
During a routine inspection, the state health department discovered that Roslin’s Sushi did not have a permit to prepare sushi in Collis Café, said Plodzik.
“Roslin’s was unaware of the regulation, as were we, and being a good partner, they pursued that permit from the state as soon as they were notified,” he said. “It’s not as though they’ve done anything wrong, they just did not have the full permit that they needed.”
Chang Lin, one of the owners of Roslin’s Sushi, affirmed that he has applied for the additional permit.
“We already have a food service license, but the health department said we need a separate one at Collis,” Lin said. “We already sent the application, and we should get the license soon.”
Colleen Smith, a food and safety defense specialist from the New Hampshire Division of Public Health Services, confirmed that the department has received an application from Roslin’s Sushi to prepare sushi in Collis Café.
“We do have an application on file for them to operate in Collis Café,” Smith said. “It does take up to 30 days for us to process that application, and what happens after that is the inspector will go do a compliance inspection. Upon a satisfactory inspection, they would be issued a license at the new location.”
While Collis Café’s made-to-order sushi is currently unavailable, the vendor’s prepackaged sushi continues to be served in Collis, Courtyard and Novack Cafés as well as the residential community house centers. Smith affirmed that Roslin’s Sushi is permitted to continue distributing prepackaged sushi at the College.
“Currently, they have a food service license in Lebanon, New Hampshire, where they’re licensed to make sushi, package it and distribute it to other food establishments,” Smith said. “They just did not have a license to operate out of the Collis Café, so that’s why they were told to stop.”
In an email statement, Plodzik wrote that as additional permits were concerned with the preparation of made-to-order sushi in the Collis kitchen space, “the prepackaged and pre-made rolls are not impacted by the regulation.”
The made-to order sushi is normally a popular option for students.
“Sometimes if I don’t want to have pasta or [food from the Class of 1953 Commons] ... then [the made-to-order sushi] is usually a nice to-go [option],” Becca Rosko’20 said. “Now I’ve been making do with either the prepackaged sushi or just finding alternative food.”
Kevin Mercado ’19 said he orders Collis Café’s made-to-order sushi once or twice a month and was surprised when he first noticed its unavailability.
“I was really just surprised and confused because I know a lot of students get it when the lines for pasta and stir-fry are long because that’s what I would always do,” Mercado said. “I wondered why it was stopping.”
Catherine Slaughter ’21 said she originally thought that the sushi was temporarily discontinued because the people who prepared it were sick.
Mercado said he hopes Roslin’s Sushi’s made-to-order service will return to Collis Café soon.
“I never ate the prepackaged sushi because I just think it’s kind of gross,” Mercado said. “I think it’s not really the closest thing to the regular sushi that’s definitely way better when it’s actually made in front of you.”
Plodzik said he believes Roslin’s Sushi will soon return to Collis Café.
“Since Lin contacted the state almost immediately to request that paperwork be approved, I would imagine that we would see a return of sushi made-to-order within the next couple of weeks in Collis,” Plodzik said.
Maria is a freshman from Oak Brook, IL. Maria plans to major in Cognitive Science and minor in Computer Science, and she joined The D because she wants to bring attention to current events on campus. In her free time, she enjoys golfing, learning about new cultures, and playing with her two puppies.
