Late Night Bites back at Miller dining hall

Between classes, evening labs and club activities that run into the night, many students have found it difficult to find time for dinner in recent years. However, this was not the case in 2013 when Miller Late Night Bites was created. At the time, the dining hall was open until midnight. Closing time was later moved up to 10 p.m. due to staffing issues. This program was created in response to students requesting that the dining halls stay open later and it quickly became a crowd favorite. 

In 2020, Late Night Bites was discontinued as services were scaled back due to COVID-19. Since then, the dining halls have operated during hours that have left those in athletics, late labs and other activities with little more than food for thought. For that reason, Miller is bringing Late Night Bites back.

On Monday, Oct. 2, Late Night Bites made its second debut at Miller dining hall.

Miller will now be open every Monday through Friday from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., according to Director of Culinary Services Mike Kosevich.

When asked about her thoughts on Late Night Bites returning, student Emma Devries said, “Oh, it’s gonna be great. Once it gets dark out I just get hungry.” 

They then cited the excessive cost of ordering food to the dorms, where service fees are added to already expensive food making ordering-in a difficult option on a budget. This is a sentiment shared by many who experienced the original Late Night Bites.

“I knew someone who would only work those night shifts when it was still around,” student Boone Schmaltz said about Late Night Bites potential return. These are the exact people Late-Night Operations manager Teryn Botty-Anderson has been on the lookout for these past few months. 

“[Botty-Anderson] was confident that she could bring it back, so she started recruiting staff this summer with the goal of opening this fall,” Kosevich said. Student staff has been recruited specifically for Late Nights, so daily operations can remain unaffected, Kosevich said.

Kosevich also reminisced on certain aspects of Late Night’s original seven-year run. It led to the advent of dining hall traditions such as Cereal Time, a former Late Night occurrence.  “At 9 p.m. each night, roughly 150 students would come into Miller, grab a bowl of cereal, sit in the back by the fireplace, sing a song they made up and then eat their cereal,” Kosevich said. 

The staff will also be wearing t-shirts with an all-new Late Night Bites logo to further add to the unique atmosphere and encourage more traditions like Cereal Time.

No more sprinting from the gym at 7:17 p.m. to make it just in time and no more skipping dinner after 8 p.m. labs. Whether out of necessity or just because, all students are welcome to attend Miller Late Night Bites and get the food they need.