Late-night dining gets an earlier bedtime

Like many students, Nursing sophomore Jessica Plantulli loves her coffee - especially late at night.

But unless she learns to brew her own, getting a latte after 1 a.m. might be a bit of a problem.

Many campus eateries - including some cafes popular among studying students - have shortened their late-night hours as a result of a decrease in business after midnight.

Last year, some dining locations made an effort to extend their hours to cater to students' nocturnal habits in order to appeal to students seeking places to study late at night. Other fast-food places reserved their late hours for weekends, giving partying students a bite to eat.

After a trial run in the past year, however, some have found that extending their hours was not the smartest business move.

Bucks County Coffee Co., which used to be open until 3 a.m. on weeknights, reduced its hours last month. Bucks - located at 40th and Locust streets - now closes two hours earlier, at 1 a.m.

Peter Helmis, a barista at Bucks, found that while the cafe did draw late-night visitors, those visitors were not necessarily customers.

"A lot of studying goes on here, and the wireless Internet is a huge draw -- but not everyone was buying something," he said.

Closing earlier "just made a lot of sense business-wise," Helmis said.

In a similar move, Qdoba also shortened its weekend hours during the first week of classes. It now closes at midnight from Thursday through Saturday.

Last year, Qdoba stayed open until 2 a.m. for the "late-night crowd of students, who like to be social on the weekends," according to general manager Chris Shippley.

However, the extended hours "weren't extremely profitable. We did get a crowd, but they didn't come in until 1:30 and we closed at 2," he said.

Fortunately for students who like to stay out late, some campus locations have chosen to keep their late hours.

Greek Lady, for example, stays open until 3:30 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

"We stay open to satisfy our customers," said manager Maria Dimopoulos. "People like to eat - when the bars close, people come to eat."

Allegro's Pizza, which was recently bought by the owner of Greek Lady, is open until 2 a.m. on weekends.

According to assistant manager Katie Racanelli, "from 11 p.m. on, it gets really busy."

But Racanelli admitted that students don't just come for the pizza.

"A lot of late-night business comes from the beer," she said.

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