Operating in the Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center since September 2010, the Stanford branch of the sandwich shop Ike’s Place is open until at least June 2014 and will remain open if the University accepts a rebid proposal from Ike Shehadeh, the owner of the eatery.

The sandwich shop was operating on a service contract that the University decided to end in June 2014, said Jamie Beckett, director of communications for the Stanford School of Engineering. University policy calls for buildings to put out contracts on a competitive bid, and various businesses will submit bids that will be evaluated by a committee representing occupants of the Science and Engineering Quad, including students.

“We thought to consider what’s best for people that go to work and school here, so that’s why we put it out for bid,” Beckett said.

Shehadeh plans to place a rebid proposal for the building, an opportunity that the University offered him in early December. The proposals for bids are due January 20, and the contract will be awarded in March 2014.

The Science and Engineering Quad is a great place for business, according to Shehadeh, but if he doesn’t get the bid, he is looking to open other locations in Palo Alto, including University Avenue.

The University put out a survey asking students, faculty, staff and visitors about their dining preferences to help in the decision-making process, according to Beckett. The survey — consisting of questions regarding quality, price and wait time — received 900 responses, 77 percent of which were from students.

In the survey, a majority (62 percent) said the ideal price for food to be within the $5.00 to $7.50 range. The preferred wait time (67 percent) is between five and 10 minutes. In terms of dining options, respondents ranked — in order of importance — quality of food, price/value for money, ease and convenience and healthy options.

“We hope to use [the survey] as a data point in the decision,” Beckett said.

Meanwhile, after seeing a post from Shehadeh on Facebook announcing the possibility of Ike’s moving off Stanford campus, Daniel Knapp ’15 and a few of his friends decided to start an online petition to express the student support to keep Ike’s, dubbed “Ike’s Army.”

As of press time, the petition has 467 signatures.

Contact Catherine Zaw at czaw13 ‘at’ stanford.edu.