College town is always the go-to when it comes to a quick lunch, brunch or even a birthday dinner in Tallahassee. However, when it’s past 10 p.m. things can look a little shaky for a student who slept through the dining hall during dinner hours. The only options that are available are what most consider unhealthy, such as fast foods and sweet desserts that are nowhere near as satisfying as a full course meal.
This is very unusual for a town like Tallahassee since it is known to be filled with college students and late night events such as football games, local clubs and other on-campus activities. Due to after class activities and study sessions, students miss the dining hall hours and are forced to either eat small snacks in their dorm or sleep off the hunger.
Asia Ussery, a second-year Florida A&M University cheerleader, explained how hard it is for her to eat towards the end of the day. She can’t eat before practice because she will get sick while she is tumbling and by the time her team is done she can’t find anything to eat.
“Sometimes, I won’t even eat for the night because I can’t eat fast food,” Ussery said.
This also becomes very difficult for students who are on certain diets like vegans and vegetarians.
Leila Smith, a first-year agricultural student, has a hard time eating past 10 p.m. because the fast food options that are available do not cater to her strict vegan diet. This causes Smith to wake up nauseous because she couldn’t eat at all.
“It sucks because I have to choose between studying an extra hour or starving for the rest of the night,” Smith said.
Although there is the concern of students not being able to eat because of their schedule, the people who are able to deal with the available fast food options notice that they have to wait for a very long time. Fast food chains like McDonald’s are usually the go-to for most FAMU students at night, but the wait for a chicken sandwich is about 30-45 minutes.
Deja Cook, fourth-year business transfer student, spoke of her own experience waiting for a small order at McDonald’s past 11 p.m. “I waited in line for almost two hours for just one Hot ‘N Spicy and a large sweet tea, and my order was still wrong,” Cook said.
Students are clearly getting tired of the lack of options. Some wish that restaurants like Chipotle, Chick Fil’ A and Tropical Smoothie can add an extra hour or two on their usual open times.
“There’s more variety and healthier options from these stores,” Smith said.
Tallahassee is filled with students who are very involved on campus, especially the students here at FAMU. That being said, the late night options should not be limited to four restaurants. There should be more variety and options for this busy town.