There are many different things that make up a student's life experience at U.Va. Prof. Kenneth Elzinga's ECON 201 class perhaps, having Dean swipe your student ID at O-Hill, picking your major and maybe most importantly, the nights out with your friends that seem to have a beginning but no end. For many students, part of a never-ending night out is a pit-stop for refueling at one of the two prime locations on the Corner that have certainly become the Letterman and Leno of the University's late night culture -- Littlejohn's and the White Spot.
It's 3 a.m and I don't wanna go to bed.
The employees of both Littlejohn's and White Spot said they attribute the popularity of the locales to their proximity and hours of operation.
"People get out of bars after last call and start looking for a place to eat," said Miguel Bautista, the grillman of the White Spot. "And we are right here, so people choose us."
Derral Young of Littlejohn's also pointed out the importance of the sandwich shop's 24/7 accessibility.
"Food. That is why we are in high demand," Young said. "I hear kids all night saying 'I'm so hungry' and we are the only place that is open 24 hours a day."
Students said the two dining spots are definitely the place to be post-partying on weekends -- or weekdays for that matter.
Second-year College student Ashby Leavell summarized the atmosphere of the two restaurants by paraphrasing R. Kelly's song "Ignition."
"It's really like an after party," Leavell said. "It's the hotel lobby."
Whether or not these late-night eateries are comparable to a "hotel lobby" is up for debate, but they do act as a kind of after-party stop according to students.
"The best time to be there is at 2:30 in the a.m. on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or a Saturday," fourth-year College student William Ergen said.
Young agreed with Ergen about late night and early morning hours being the most popular time slots for a trip to Littlejohn's.
"Demand is very high late at night," he said. "Between two and four o'clock in the morning we do a really good business."
The Wild Turkey vs. The Gusburger
When it comes to choosing between Littlejohn's and the White Spot students have differing views.
Third-year College student Jonathan Dickinson said he prefers Gusburgers over Nuclear Subs.
"It's gotta be White Spot," Dickinson said. "It's a hallmark of the corner. It's good stuff."
Dickinson went on to say that he finds that it is the people at the White Spot which give it such a unique character.
"It's that guy," he said. "He is really intense and sort of comical in a way he doesn't mean to be and it's just great."
Bautista, who explains the magic of the Gusburger as "egg on a cheeseburger," said certain policies of the restaurant also have an effect on its popularity among food-craving students.
"Sometimes we give away food for free," Bautista said. "People come in and order five or six Gusburgers and we charge for four and give the other two for free."
While Dickinson said he loves Gusburgers, he admits that he finds one let down about the magic of the White Spot.
"The one thing I am disappointed about is that late night you can only get Gusburgers," he said. "And I really love gyros, so it sucks not to be able to get those."
Bautista explained the reasoning behind the one-item-fits-all supply of Gusburgers is convenience and preference.
"We only serve Gusburgers because that's the quickest and easiest to do, other stuff takes longer time," he said. "And it's the one most people want anyways."
Ergen said he tried a Gusburger once but since then he has become a Littlejohn's devotee.
"My favorite is Littlejohn's, no questions asked," Ergen said. "Where else can you go with three friends after a night out at Jabberwoke, the Biltmore or a fraternity party and order up a Wild Turkey and proceed to 14th Street, while eating everything including the pickle and the tortilla chips?"
Young pointed out that Ergen's choice of late night nutrition is a common one among the students.
"Wild Turkey is without a doubt, hands down everyone's favorite," Young said. "Followed closely by our Nuclear Sub."
Ergen said the sandwiches at Littlejohn's are one of a kind.
"A lot of creativity goes into those sandwiches," he said. "Who else would think of putting turkey, provolone cheese and Texas Pete hot sauce on a sandwich?"
And the pickles?
"I love 'em, they cleanse the palette perfectly," Ergen said. "Some people prefer to eat them in the beginning; I prefer to save them for the end."
Food fight
While waiting in line for food, students said they witness many incidents that border the line between reality and sitcom-worthy comedy.
"You know sometimes you are walking down the Corner, and you see a disoriented undergrad walking around, holding his Littlejohn sandwich as the cops pull up, proceed with a breathalyzer and take him to the cellar," Ergen recalled.
Although adrenaline levels on the Corner often remain as mild as the house dressing on a sandwich, sometimes emotions run high.
Ergen said that while he has never been involved in a fight himself, he has been a bystander in a few.
"Littlejohn's is a special place, a place where people stand in line bumping into each other," he said. "Sometimes people get in a verbal argument which then can turn into a bloody physical confrontation involving surfer dudes and pink polos."
Young also mentioned that Littlejohn's has had to deal with fights at times.
"We run into a few fights sometimes," he said. "I had to break up two fights on Saturday."
Having to break up a fight is not the only challenge, according to Young.
"It also gets really frustrating when people are in line out the door and someone orders a wild turkey and then decides to add all this stuff like sauerkraut and bacon which becomes a whole different sandwich," he said. "And you are waiting there as the manager looks over to see what the wait is for."
At the White Spot the frustrations take a different form.
"When people come in they are usually screaming out orders," Bautista said. "Sometimes you just can't concentrate and have no idea what people want."
Other choices? No way.
Despite having a few other locations open for food consumption after midnight, students said the Corner's two favorites will always be their first picks.
"Since I love gyros, once I made the mistake of going to Pita Pit and ordering one there because White Spot doesn't have them at night," Dickinson said. "Never do that."
Ergen is another student who said he would refuse to change his late night rendezvous with a Wild Turkey sandwich.
"I wouldn't go anywhere else," he said. "No other place can be like Littlejohn's because no other place gives a white Styrofoam box."
Ultimately, the choice to indulge in the late-night, carbohydrate heaven of a Gusburger or a Littlejohn's sandwich is a personal one. But one thing is certain
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