Signs covering the former Blimpie sandwich restaurant in the Illini Union Food Court reveal a new eatery coming to town.

McAlister’s Deli is set to open in early August, said Ed Slazinik, director of the Union, and operations should be in full swing for the start of fall classes.

Pat Walls, McAlister’s vice president for franchise sales, who graduated from the University in 1990, played a large role in bringing the restaurant to Champaign. His familiarity with the campus as well as the McAlister’s location at Illinois State University has given Walls reason to be confident of the coming location’s success.

“It’s always been a goal of mine to have a restaurant at the U of I,” he said.

Walls likened McAlister’s cuisine to that of Panera Bread, without the bakery component.

“We are very hearty deli-type food,” he said, “Nothing like you have right now.”

The restaurant offers a variety of sandwiches, spuds, soups, salads and desserts ranging in price from $3.95 to $6.95, according to McAlister’s Corporation.

Slazinik explained that when Blimpie’s contract with the Union was approaching its expiration, students from the Illini Union Board were approached for feedback on what should replace it.

“The students wanted something unique from Campustown,” he said. “They wanted something different.”

Michelle Kluge, freshman in LAS, said she eats at the food court once or twice a week and would have preferred to see something other than a deli move in to enhance campus variety.

“There’s a bunch of that on Green Street,” she said. “I think we have enough of them.”

The contract with McAlister’s was signed before Blimpie moved out, Slazinik said. However, McAlister’s experienced a three-month setback in finding an operator for the Champaign franchise because of Hurricane Katrina’s effects on the Mississippi-based restaurant. Slazinik said the current contract is slated for five years.

“I don’t like to go much beyond four or five years because I want students to feel like we’re renewing things down there,” he said.

Walls said the Union McAlister’s will be one of few locations on college campuses throughout the country, but about 40 percent of McAlister’s restaurants are in college towns.

“I think McAlister’s really appeals well to college students,” he said. “We have very generous portions with high quality food at reasonable prices.”

Linda Turner is an employee of the McDonald’s located across the food court from the coming deli and doesn’t anticipate McAlister’s to hurt sales.

“I don’t think it would hurt our business at all,” Turner said. “We stay swamped and I think we stay busier than most places.”

Slazinik agreed, and said with the increased variety in cuisine, patrons will know that they will be able to get what they want at the food court. Historically, as restaurants have come and gone, he said, additions have done nothing but help business overall.

“Every time a new one opened, not only did the others not lose any sales – they grew,” he said. “I think with McAlister’s down there, we’ll see an increase in the volume of traffic.”

Amy Boss, freshman in LAS, enjoys the accessibility and convenience of the food court and is looking forward to eating more nutritious meals at the Union.

“I think it would be a nice addition,” she said. “I think that it would be good to have nutritious alternatives.”