On Monday, Jan. 13, Simpson College’s residence life office emailed all Simpson students, staff and faculty announcing new hours for the dining options in Kent Campus Center.
The email said Millie’s Coffee Shop will now close at 5:30 p.m. instead of the previous 9:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday, to better meet student usage. They expanded Tyler’s Grille and SubConnection hours to improve late night food offerings. Tyler’s closes two hours later, at 9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and SubConnection is open an hour later Monday-Thursday, closing at 8:30 p.m.
Ken Coder, general manager at Sodexo, said they based the decision to change Kent’s food venue hours on customer usage. Customer counts for Millie’s suggested that after 5:30 p.m., there were typically only 2-3 orders every half hour. Since business was slow in the evenings at Millie’s, Coder felt that giving students a better offering of dining services at night was necessary, which led to closing Millie’s earlier and keeping Tyler’s and SubConnection open later.
“Having stuff available at 8:30 or 9:30 on this side of campus is a bonus for students. Pfeiffer is open too, but it’s on the other side of campus,” Coder said.
Shaun Martin, retail manager at Sodexo, wanted to incorporate the new hours after receiving feedback at a monthly food advisory council meeting. Martin said students considered Tyler’s 7:30 p.m. close time too early. Many Simpson athletic practices end at 7 p.m., so many student athletes couldn’t make it to Kent in time for dinner.
Martin hopes that by pushing the hours back at Tyler’s, students will have more dining options in the evening and will not have to rush the dinner process.
Kasey Shanahan, a senior health & exercise science major, had mixed feelings about the new hours for the food venues in Kent. Shanahan often drinks coffee late at night and used to go to Millie’s after 5:30 p.m. frequently, which is now not an option.
“I wish that Millie’s was still open later,” Shanahan said. “That was the only kind of downside that I thought of it.”
Shanahan said she appreciates the later hours for SubConnection, and although she never eats at Tyler’s, she likes that students have more dining options late at night.
“I think it’s nice, especially for students that are in sports and have to practice,” Shanahan said. “I think it’s good that SubConnect and Tyler’s are open for them to go to after practice. It’s really helpful.”
For those disappointed about Millie’s reduced hours, Martin and Coder want to remind students about the Just Baked kiosk in Kent and the two beverage maker machines in Dunn Library. Just Baked is open 24/7 and is compatible with Flex Dollars.
Martin asks that students come to him and the food service team with any concerns about the new hours or food venue operations and any requests for dining services.
“Tell us any problem you have and then we will make the adjustment,” Martin said. “Come talk to us and we will gladly do everything we can to provide you what you’re asking for.”