Students who are up late studying through the night may be able to look forward to a new late-night dining option, Den After 10.
Kandace Burke-Thompson, Michael Renaud, Rachel Farneti and John Feeney, a group of entrepreneurship students, created the idea for Den After 10 in response to the many requests from students for later hours at the Den.
These students plan to make the new late-night dining option completely student-run.
“Managers for the Den recognize the desire for longer hours, but are reluctant to make it happen for us,” Burke-Thompson explained. “When you want something done and done right, you have to take matters into your own hands.”
Burke-Thompson and her colleagues plan to make Den After 10 a delivery service, which will bring students’ food right to their dorm room. This way, students will not have to worry about taking a break from studying or walking through the snow during the winter months.
The student-run service would be based on the first floor of Grewen Hall, and would be in effect from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. Thursdays through Sundays and all week during finals week.
Unlike other late-night dining options based off-campus, students would be able to benefit from Den After 10 because of its affordability and various payment options.
“Our food will be priced in a way that is to the student’s advantage,” Burke-Thompson explained. “Besides, other off-campus restaurants wouldn’t accept munch money as a form of payment.”
Additionally, Den After 10 will not require students to leave their dorm rooms, making it a more convenient option than an off-campus restaurant.
Burke-Thompson also explained that she and her colleagues are also considering a pick-up service for those students who choose to make the walk to Grewen.
“We are still trying to decide what would be best,” Burke-Thompson said. “We love the idea of it being a delivery service, especially when it starts to snow. But having the option to pick up food is something to consider.”
From here, these students will need to present their case to dining services and Sodexo to receive approval for this idea. They will also need to receive clearance with the Security Office regarding delivering food late at night.
This group of entrepreneurship students have a survey available online for students to express their thoughts and opinions about Den After 10, including what they would like to see on the menu, how often they would use the service and even if they would be interested in working for Den After 10.
“Once we get more feedback from our survey, we will be able to have a stronger case to present this to the retail manager for dining services, John Richardson,” Burke-Thompson explained.
The main goal of this group of students is to have Den After 10 up and running this semester.
If successful, Den After 10 will be the first completely student-run dining option on campus.
“All it takes is an idea to make a difference on campus,” Burke-Thompson said. “You simply need to voice your opinion and have the determination to make the change.”
Students who would like to get involved, ask a question or voice their opinion on their survey can visit http://www.facebook.com/DENAFTER10.
