Although most Ames restaurants employ Iowa State students, only one local eatery can boast that it is run entirely by ISU students.

As part of HRIM 380L, Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management and Dietetics students serve the customers and rotate daily through all production and management positions in the Tea Room.

“Our class is organized in a very systematic but flexible way,” said Yi Chen, a teaching assistant for the course, but “students are in a teaching and practicing environment — it is not like a commercial restaurant.”

Students “also take part in grading other students, evaluating the food quality and the whole lab experience,” said Janice Dana, supervisor of the Tea Room and one of the instructors of HRIM 380L. With the help of the two lab attendants, students are responsible for cleaning and dishwashing.

The instructor and two TAs supervise one of the three areas of the operation. A student is assigned as the manager each day to preplan everything, and the action plan will be finalized by the instructor.

The set menu varies day by day and is mailed to regular customers two weeks in advance. The majority of them are faculty and staff members. “Many of them have been our guests for 20 to 25 years,” Chen said.

Concerns have been voiced that the Tea Room is not well publicized. “The number of guests is not a problem,” Dana said, “We can’t advertise and compete with regular restaurants because it is a university restaurant. Only limited advertisements are allowed, mostly by word of mouth.”

Another difference between the Tea Room and an ordinary restaurant is that the former is “an educational experience for future restaurant managers and health professionals” while the latter aims at profits. “Our main objective is not profit,” Dana said.

The Tea Room is self-supporting. Meals are $3.60 each. The revenue covers food and the replacement and repair of equipment.

The Tea Room came into existence in the early 1900s when the former Department of Institution Management was first established. Chen said it was originally in the Memorial Union. With the re-creation of the department in 1924, it was relocated several times in MacKay Hall before it settled in its present location.

The Tea Room is located in Room 23 of MacKay Hall, serving lunch from noon to 1 p.m., Tuesday through Friday during the summer, and weekdays during semesters.

Reservations can be made until 9 a.m., when the lab begins, so that the exact number of meals can be prepared for that day. Walk-ins are occasionally taken if seats are available.

For reservations or a menu, call 294-3330 between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.