JJ’s May Open Doors to Weekend Snackers

Students craving a late-night snack on the weekends may soon have another campus option.

Beginning next semester, JJ’s Place could open its doors on Friday and Saturday nights. The change in hours depends on the results of a survey posted on the Dining Services Web site.

Joseph Heavey, the executive director of Dining Services, said there’s a “better than even shot” that the change in JJ’s hours would come at the beginning of the spring semester if there’s an “overwhelmingly positive response” to the survey. The extended hours would last over an initial six-week pilot period to gauge student use of the eatery.

The results of the survey, which asks students at what hours they visit JJ’s and whether they’d use it on the weekends, could also prompt Dining Services to reduce JJ’s hours during the week if responses indicate that such a change would be more efficient.
Molly Conley, CC ’10 and Columbia College Student Council student services representative, said that the council would throw a kick-off party on JJ’s inaugural weekend night.

“It’s really up to students,” Conley said on the suggested hour change. “If they say they want it, then they have to come.” JJ’s would have to break even financially to continue its extended hours.

Student response to the proposed new hours were positive. Melissa Taylor, CC ’11, said she would “definitely go if it were open. It’d be much more convenient than having to go spend real money outside.” Jesse Bentert, SEAS ’11, agreed that “it would be cool if it were open on weekends instead of having to go off campus.”

The proposed changes in hours at JJ’s come at the same time as other additions to Dining Service programs.

Wesley Matthews, CC ’10, the student behind the start-up enterprise All-Day Campus Matinee LLC, founded this summer, has been working with Dining Services to place a DVD rental machine outside of JJ’s. Matthews said the hassle of getting Netflix through Mail Services and the credit card requirement at Kim’s Music and Video prompted him to start his enterprise.

He said he hopes the machine, which would allow students to rent DVDs on campus, will be running by next week. The cost of a rental will be $1 per night for up to five nights until Jan. 1, when the price will increase to $1.75. After five nights, students will be charged $30 to replace the DVD, but can reclaim most of the money upon returning the disc.

Matthews hopes to expand the DVD business by adding more machines and enabling students to rent with their Flex points in the future. “I’m counting on feedback from students,” he said.

In other Dining changes, board games and a pool table have been placed in JJ’s, and John Jay debuted its weekend takeout this past week.

Dining Services is also working to overhaul the look and services of JJ’s and John Jay, though students may not start seeing results until the summer of 2009.

“We just gave [John Jay] a little bit of a facelift over the summer ... but this would be the big renovation, the one that would last 50 years,” Heavey said.

Lien Hoang can be reached at lien.hoang@columbiaspectator.com.