In the absence of Panda Express and Taco Bell, two of the university’s more popular restaurants, other Associated Students of UCLA restaurants thrived. Now that Panda has reopened, the long-term effect on ASUCLA restaurants remains uncertain.

Panda was under renovation to meet current construction codes for a large part of the summer and fall quarter. It reopened Nov. 28.

The initial impact of Panda’s reopening can be seen more in other third-party restaurants, like Rubio’s Baja Grill and La Cucina by Sbarro, than ASUCLA’s own restaurants, said Rich Delia, finance director for ASUCLA.

In the 28-day period from Oct. 24 to Nov. 20, when Panda was still closed, other third-party restaurants reported higher incomes and customer counts than they were budgeted for.

For example, Rubio’s Baja Grill exceeded its expected income for that period when Panda was still closed by about 25 percent, according to ASUCLA income and customer count reports.

From Nov. 21 to Dec. 2, when Panda had reopened, Rubio’s Baja Grill’s actual income exceeded its expected income by only 7 percent.

Before Panda’s reopening, other ASUCLA restaurants, like those in the Cooperage, saw long lines during the lunchtime rush. Now, the lines have somewhat diminished.

But customers are still willing to stand in long lines at Panda even while the wait is shorter at other ASUCLA restaurants.

“The food actually got better,” said Julio Garcia, a fifth-year history and Chicano studies student who has been eating at Panda since his freshman year. “It’s worth the wait.”

For others, the lines cause them to go elsewhere.

“When (the line) gets past Relaxtation and Wetzel’s Pretzels, that’s way too long for me,” said Sarah Sterlace, a fifth-year psychology and African studies student.

The impact on ASUCLA-run restaurants could potentially harm ASUCLA profits, Delia said.

Because Panda is owned by a third party and only pays a percentage of its sales and the rent for the space it occupies, it pays a smaller percentage of its profits to ASUCLA compared to campus restaurants owned and run by the student union, like Mucho Taco and Shorty’s Subs.

“We do better on our own operations, profit-wise, but we need to provide the customers with the food they want,” he said.

It is too early to tell how soon the popularity at other campus restaurants will rebound after Panda’s reopening, Delia continued.

“With a new opening ... there’s an initial surge and then it starts to level out,” he said. “I would think within a month or two, we’ll know.”

But ASUCLA seems to have benefitted as a whole, since the total restaurant sales have been higher than before Panda opened, said Roy Champawat, associate director of on-campus restaurants.

“There are new people eating in the system and that’s good,” Champawat said.

The permanent removal of another popular campus eatery, Taco Bell, at the end of October prompted ASUCLA to quickly find ways to fill the restaurant’s absence.

Taco Bell’s contract with ASUCLA was ended in October amid protests that the restaurant’s parent company, Yum! Brands, contributes to alleged labor abuse of Immokalee, Fla. workers.

In its place, Shorty’s Subs, an ASUCLA-run sandwich restaurant, was moved to Campus Corner from the Cooperage on Ackerman’s A-level. To fill the demand for inexpensive Mexican food, Mucho Taco filled the sandwich restaurant’s old location.

Within the next quarter, several other changes will be made to the campus restaurant lineup, especially Campus Corner, where Shorty’s Subs is located. To take more advantage of the space available there, ASUCLA is planning on adding a line of hot subs and Mediterranean style gyros and sandwiches.

“Initially, we were doing what we could do relatively quickly,” Champawat said, of replacing Taco Bell with Shorty’s Subs. “Now, we have a little more time to fill out the menu.”