Students on north campus looking for late-night dining opportunities close to home need look no further than the lower level of North Commons, 157 Curl Dr.
Burrito Noches opened Monday night to students lined up outside the door. In a marriage of Chipotle-esque burritos and dining plan operations, Burrito Noches offers several choices of made-to-order burritos for late-night cravings without the hassle of walking to Mirror Lake Cafe.
Students can get a wide variety of meat, vegetarian and vegan burritos from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday and from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Burrito Noches will accept dining plans, BuckID and cash for their burritos and Mexican sides.
Close to 400 patrons purchased burritos or nachos before the night was over, despite the lack of advertising on the part of food and dining services, said Dennis Bennet, North Commons operations manager.
Tim Keegstra, associate director of resident dining and food services, met with representatives from USG in the middle of fall quarter to discuss the need for another dining alternative on north campus that would accomodate late night operations.
The plans were finalized before finals week and a team of employees was assembled, Keegstra said.
“We’re still working out the bugs,” he said. “It’s a culmination of happenstance. We wanted something popular, something late night that could be opened as soon as possible.”
Ohio State is moving toward “station dining” – a system that offers a variety of ethnic foods contained under one roof, Bennet said.
“Burrito Noches is the evolution of campus dining services,” he said.
Plans are in the works for The Marketplace on Neil, a station dining operation scheduled to open spring quarter.
Students should not expect the commons to be transformed any time soon, Bennet said.
“This is a big university and change happens slowly,” he said.
