The University of Maroua (UMa) operates two restaurants; Restaurant N°1 and RestaurantN°2 situated at the campuses of Lycée Classique and ETA-CRA respectively. The restaurants are located at the Western and Eastern neighborhoods of Maroua, but at walking distances from most lecture halls. With a capacity of one hundred and fifty seats, restaurant N°1 serves 800 students, and restaurants N°2 on the other hand, with a capacity of 80 seats, serves up to 700 students. A total of 1.500 students are served each day from Monday to Saturday.

As from 11am, students start queuing-up in front of the restaurants to have their meals which are served between 12 noon and 2 pm. Students pay a 100 frs for a plate of food but the University subsidizes substantially, to the extent that for each plate of food consumed, the student benefits a discount of over 83.34%. Besides the very affordable prices, extreme attention is taken to ensure that both quantity and quality are guaranteed. A broad sampling of various cuisines of high-calorie and other nutritional options are published at the beginning of each week, so students know in advance what menu to expect each day.

So far, the restaurants are still being runned through indirect management. Since 2009 the university sub-contracts the actual running of the restaurants to two contractors with management teams that have proved their worth in hospitable services. The kitchens open their doors at 7.30am each day and the workers dedicate themselves to meet students’ dinning expectations through service excellence.

However hierarchy oversees the functioning of the contractors and makes sure that they provide the best quality service through a hard working team of University employers headed by the Director of Students Welfare Services (DCOU). The others include: The Head of Division for Catering and a secretary, the Chief Cook (Intendant), two Tellers (Regisseurs de recette), four Controllers and two day-watch and nights-watch men. Both teams harness their energies and know-how to ensure that food presented is palatable and service gracious.

Every academic year, the restaurants open their doors in the month of November and close finally in July. In-between there are intermittent intervals, in accordance with the University calendar of activities. Notably, the restaurants continue to serve students during the period of preparations for the University Games. The Restaurants are only put on recess during the University Games, the long vacation and during the Christmas and end-of-year festivities.

When students have enough to worry on campus: Classes, studying, work and extracurricular activities, the restaurants are a stress-free zone where they meet, chat and socialize with friends from other departments.