On-campus students at Florida A&M University often wonder why they cannot access food during the weekend.
Students often use flex bucks to purchase items at on-campus restaurants such as Wingstop, Chick-fil-A, Tropical Cafe, Starbucks, and other dining services available to students. The campus has two dining halls with plenty of eating choices and is known for its “Fried Chicken Wednesday” and “Fried Fish Friday.” It is typical of HBCU culture to have these themes during the week.
Numerous flex dollar (dining currency) alternatives are available for each meal plan. Most meal plans come with this cash (see your meal plan contract for the precise amount per plan), which students can spend at several on-campus dining establishments. Flex dollars function similarly to a debit card; the cost is removed from your balance when you show your FAMU student ID card at the register.
FAMU also requires students to live in the traditional residence halls (FAMU Towers, FAMU Village, Sampson Hall, Young Hall). While not necessary, commuter meal plans are offered to off-campus students and those living in Phase III and Palmetto South, two
non-traditional residence halls.
The weekend hours for FAMU dining consist of Friday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., brunch, 2 p.m.-4:30 light lunch, and 4:30–7:30 p.m. dinner. Although there is still access to campus dining, these hours are only available at the Top Cafe and the HUB.
While Metz FAMU dining services say the hours are satisfactory for the weekend, students think otherwise.
“Having those restaurant options during the weekend allows me to have options, especially from a financial standpoint,” senior Cyani Ayala said.
“I also find it convenient how I can just order my food on the GrubHub app and then just go and pick it up when it’s ready,” Ayala added.
Although many students may feel it is more convenient to have restaurants open on the weekend, Jeff Kwolek, a general manager at Metz, said it isn’t in the company’s best interests.
“For business reasons, we weren’t seeing as much sales as having those restaurants open on the weekends,” Kwolek said.
“It’s not that we don’t want those services open; we just simply weren’t getting enough students to come in.”
Even though many students believe that more options should be available, it must be more profitable for them to be open on weekends.