Terrain is a welcome addition to DelVal. However, many students can’t afford it

By Lex Feuchter

Last year, Delaware Valley University partnered with Terrain Café, a greenhouse style restaurant known for its gorgeous interior and exterior, offering a nursery, a retail store, and event design management. While Terrain’s farmhouse aligns with DelVal’s agricultural roots and benefits college students through internships and employment, its high prices have sparked concerns among college students, some of whom find dining or shopping there unaffordable.    

DelVal student Anna Riches enjoyed Terrain’s dining experience with her father and would recommend it, but she wishes the prices were lower. 

“I have dined at Terrain with my dad once and I would recommend it to my friends, but it’s pricey. I would say the meals were worthwhile too, but the expenses could have been lower,” said Riches. “Terrain had this potted plant with bread inside of it as a starter meal, which was cool. We got some honey with different jellies on the side, too. The atmosphere was super professional and overall, a good experience. Terrain makes people want to explore DelVal a little more, and it’s more marketing for the school itself.” 

            Terrain offers a 20% discount for college students and staff, however, that does not negate the high-priced meals for some. A full meal with a drink can cost between $30 and $40. For instance, a scallop dish is $32, and a mocha latte is nearly $6. While the meals are tasty, the prices are not affordable for the average college student’s night out with friends. Outside the dining experience, shopping for home décor, plants and even candles are out of reach financially. 

For Autumn Prisco, the highly anticipated business is falling short of hype. “Terrain is more expensive, and it’s a nice building, but I don’t see a lot of students going there. A lot more people outside of DelVal visit there though,” said Prisco.

“I remember while Terrain was being built, students were really hyped for it. When it was released to the public, we were disappointed after finding out about the costs. I didn’t know the twenty percent off discount was considered Terrain, either.” 

Autumn Prisco

Prisco and other students interviewed for this story said Terrain would get a lot more students if the prices were lowered. 

DelVal’s partnership with Terrain adds employment positions, which some students are taking advantage of. For instance, Terrain brings experiential learning opportunities through internship, retail, and event planning roles. The student group gaining from this is small in the large student population on campus. The university promotes their work with the farm stand at Terrain’s retail store. DelVal’s stand offers local goods from the university itself, which is open seasonally. This is good business for the institution; however, when it comes to dining, the benefits to students are scarce.  

 Brianna Alcorn, the Director of Sales & Marketing for Terrain’s Café, commented on its relationship to DelVal.  

 “We have established exclusive internship opportunities, providing invaluable hands-on learning experiences. This program has directly benefited DVU students, with notable successes such as a recent full-time job offer accepted by a former DVU intern and graduate of ’23,” said Alcorn.  

Alcorn recognized the benefits of Terrain and DelVal’s collaboration but did not address the high prices in the establishment.  

“We offer several full time and part-time employment opportunities within Terrain Cafe and Terrain Events, providing students with unique discounts across our brands and a complimentary staff meal during shift breaks. We offer a 20 percent discount to students and faculty; we also extend this discount to DVU Alumni during select times of the year and provide opportunities for both current and former students to engage with Terrain.”