Tulane University’s perceived dearth of late-night dining options has frequently been the source of frustration among students. However, the sudden influx of student-run takeout businesses is poised to fix this issue.

Big D’s Meats and Mo’ Pizza recently popped up on Fizz, advertising late-night, low-cost meal alternatives to the limited offerings served up by Sodexo, the company that manages Tulane’s dining services. The two companies’ emphasis on social media presences highlights the youth of its founders. Both Dustin Greenwood of Big D’s Meats and Cole Ingram of Mo’ Pizza are freshmen at Tulane, and they possess aptitude in both business and culinary for their own ventures. 

Greenwood, a business major, extolled the virtues of his academic background when it comes to preparing his openings. 

“I took the Excel class, which was really helpful because I have all my stuff in the spreadsheet, and it has helped me keep track of my costs,” he said. His lifelong interest in cooking informed his decision to open up shop on campus. “I’ve always wanted to cook,” Greenwood said. “I thought about going to culinary school for a bit until I got in to Tulane.” Prior to enrolling at Tulane, he sold barbecue out of his driveway at his Kansas City, Missouri home. 

Similarly, Ingram’s inspiration stems from his time working at a pizza parlor in high school. Outside of work, he would often make pizzas for his family and friends. After becoming increasingly skilled at his craft, he decided to try his hand at Tulane. “I decided that I kind of wanted to bring it here, because I thought it could be fun,” Ingram said. “I could make a little business out of it. It’s the money on the side, you know?” Mo’ Pizza’s first trial run attracted a few of Ingram’s friends, which motivated him to expand his audience.

The grill master and pizzaiolo conduct their business outside out of necessity, not for show. Greenwood sets up outside of Butler Residence Hall with his own propane tank and grill, and Ingram operates in front of Sharp Residence Hall with the pizza oven he acquired just for his business. Greenwood specifically remembers his first trial run as Big D’s Meats, traveling across the metropolitan area at night just to fill up his propane tank.

Both Big D’s Meats and Mo’ Pizza are self-run operations, but the two founders noted the importance of collaboration amongst friends. “I do all the prep, I make the dough, the sauce, bought the oven,” Ingram said. “But, I have a lot of friends who helped me out along the way … it’s nice that I don’t have to do it all by myself.”

The experiences of Greenwood and Ingram are not unique to Tulane. SexyCakes, another student-run takeout service, was founded by freshmen in 2019 as a provider of late-night dining options. Like Big D’s Meats and Mo’ Pizza, their origins were humble, starting in the Sharp hall kitchen. 

Over the years, however, the company blossomed into an operation that fulfilled 15,000 orders and employed numerous students. Despite SexyCakes’ current dormant status, their influence is not lost on the freshmen. “SexyCakes had a big impact on a lot of the people wanting to do their own free business thing,” Ingram said, “[they] kind of opened up the ground for a lot of other people to step in and fill their shoes.”

So what’s next for the two students behind Big D’s Meats and Mo’ Pizza? This week, Greenwood received word from the Butler resident director, ordering him to cease business immediately. The email cited the “many Tulane policies that prevent such operations on Tulane property.” While Big D’s Meats is temporarily out of commision, that doesn’t deter Greenwood. “I am going to try to do pop ups at certain events,” Greenwood said, “… so it’s possible I may return, just at a different location.” 

As for Ingram, he hasn’t received a notice yet from the school regarding his business, so he plans on expanding his menu. “Soon enough, I’ll start broadening my horizons and having like a weekly special, maybe like, six or seven pizzas per night that people can order,” Greenwood said.