When the hunger pangs strike at 2 a.m., students once had nowhere to turn. Two Hillsdale restaurants have recently made the after-hours food hunt a lot easier for students, so when A.J.’s Café closes it’s not the end of the world—or the meal.
The Palace Cafe in downtown Hillsdale recently started serving breakfast and lunch on weekend nights. The doors open 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights and stay open until 2 p.m. the following afternoon.
Owner Leslie Meredith began the new hours several weeks ago to give the community, especially young people, a late-night option in a town sorely lacking in non-fast food restaurants open late. She was inspired by friends’ complaints and her own experience growing up on the East Coast, enjoying the long business hours that were common there.
“The younger generation around here should have a late-night meeting place,” Meredith said. “It gives the community somewhere to go besides Taco Bell.”
“I think it’s a fantastic idea,” said senior Ian Ostaszewski, Friday night patron of the Palace. “There are plenty of times I’ve been hungry late at night, and it’s nice to have the option. I’m kinda surprised a restaurant would try that in Hillsdale — I’m a little skeptical if they can keep it up.”
Business during the new hours has been slow, but increasing, and the night shift is beginning to see regular faces. Meredith said the new hours will be tested until December, and if they bring in enough money to break even, they’ll be continued.
“It’s gradually picking up. We do get the bar crowd, but that was not my target,” Meredith said. “My target was the college crowd after movies or football games. It’s not about me making more money or anything, it’s about giving the community a place to go.”
Kim Brunette, the late-shift waitress, says the Palace sees after-bar, after-work, and college crowds during the night. She says students like to take advantage of Wi-Fi access in the front of the cafe and use the space for studying.
Ostaszewski’s only complaint: the cafe is far from campus.
“It does present the problem that it’s downtown,” he said. “Most weeknights I hang out on campus. It’s a matter of convincing other people to go downtown with me.”
Similar to the Palace, the McDonalds on W. Carleton Road recently expanded its hours to cater to college students and factory workers late at night. The dining room is now open 24/7, giving students a place to get food and use the free Wi-Fi anytime.
Other options for nighttime snacks include local pizza places such as Dominos, which delivers until 1 a.m. Dutch Uncle Donuts open 24/7 in nearby Coldwater is a favorite for students with cars, and most local fast food joints are open until midnight.
On campus, students are stuck with vending machines. A.J.’s was once open until 2 a.m. every day, but according to Kevin Kirwan, general manager of Saga Inc., it wasn’t cost-effective.
“It was a no-start after 11 p.m.,” Kirwan said. “People might be studying but they’re not buying anything. Basically it was costing money to stay open. It was futile.”
The café’s current hours are the result of trial-and-error and sales data showing Saga that not enough people would buy food to make staying open past 12 a.m. on weekdays and 7 p.m. on weekends cost-effective.
