Taco Taco is now open from 8 p.m. to midnight, Monday through Thursday. Morning hours will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., while Einstein’s hours will be curtailed to stay open only until 8 p.m.
Plans to extend Taco Taco’s hours were discussed over the summer recess.
“We had talked about it at the beginning of the summer as a possible late-night option,” said Miguel Ardid, director of food services.
Extended hours for Taco Taco started last week, the same time that Einstein’s hours were at.
“It was a soft, late-night opening, and we did some marketing. The word of mouth is getting out,” Ardid said.
According to Ardid, Taco Taco will only serve breakfast tacos during these hours, but its late night menu could expand if there is enough demand from students.
“It is possible it might be expanded,” Ardid said.
Einstein’s hours were shortened in order to service Taco Taco’s extended hours.
“We can’t have everything open all the time. When we decided to open one, we had to close the other, and that’s really why that happened that way,” Ardid said.
The hours are highly dependent on student response. Whether or not students actually spend money determines its hours as a dining facility.
“If there is a huge demand for it to be opened “˜til midnight, then we’ll continue doing that and possibly even expand. On the other hand, if the sales aren’t there, and, if we notice that students are not coming in at, like, eleven to twelve, we might look to adjust the hours again,” Ardid said. “It is kind of based on business needs.”
Students have expressed concerns about Einstein’s hours being shortened.
“I think it’s kind of cool that Taco Taco is open later, but it is inconvenient that Einstein’s is closed. If they were both open, that would be cool. Since one is closed it kinda sucks, like, if you want coffee at night you can’t really get it,” said junior Dominique Davis.
“It is what it is. It is helpful for some students, but I don’t like the fact that they closed Einsteins down just to make it available for Taco Taco,” said junior Breanna Willis. “From Einsteins you have a variety of things. If you just wanted a bagel or if you just wanted soup, coffee, fruit or something you can get that. A lot of people did want Taco Taco to be open at later hours so they got what they wanted.”
If students want Einstein’s be open longer they need to demand it and support it by spending money there.
“If sales would support Einstein’s being open as well, then that’s something we can look at in the future. It would be more of a business decision. If the students felt like they had to choose, and they felt like Einstein’s would be the one they preferred to have open then we would look at that, too,” said David Tuttle, associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students.
“By demanding it, it’s actually by visiting us. You can ask for a lot of things but if you don’t support the cause then it doesn’t go anywhere,” Ardid said.
