It's a familiar story. It's 9 p.m., your stomach is rumbling and you're trapped on central Grounds. You head to Newcomb for some relief, but much to your dismay, there is nowhere to turn. By this hour, the dining halls and Pavilion XI are all closed. A long-awaited solution, however, may be on the horizon -- a brand new C3 store is tentatively scheduled to open on the first floor of Newcomb Hall after Thanksgiving break.
The C3 Store, which stands for "convenience to the third power," will operate from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 12 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, serving as "an all-purpose location to satisfy student needs up until 11 [p.m.]," according to U.Va. Dining Director of Operations Eddie Whedbee.
Many students said they either were completely unaware of the convenience store's coming arrival or surprised that it had not opened sooner.
"Oh, the store that is supposed to open in Newcomb?" first-year College student Megan McDonald said jokingly.
Third-year College student Jessica Kingsley expressed similar sentiments.
"Am I supposed to have heard of this store?" she asked.
A "coming soon" sign has been displayed in the Newcomb Hall lobby for several weeks at the store's future location, though no specific opening date has been indicated.
"Everything has been delayed by facilities issues," Whedbee said. "Right now at C3, it's a plumbing issue."
He explained that 200 feet of piping needs to be run to connect the refrigerators in the store to units on the roof. "They are working on it as we speak," he said.
This configuration is designed to avoid a problem experienced at the Runk C3 store, where the refrigeration is all done internally.
"In Runk, the store gets very hot because the refrigerators give off so much heat," Whedbee explained. "We won't get the noise or the heat" by putting the units on the roof.
The Newcomb Hall store will be similar to the other C3 locations, such as Runk and the Root Cellar, but Whedbee said he expects it will be a little fancier.
"There will be an open-air refrigerator [with] the top snack items around college campuses -- sandwiches, sushi, coffee -- all those options," he said.
The C3 Store will reside on the site of the former Newcomb Bakery, which used to sell bagels, deserts, sandwiches and other assorted items, before it closed to the dismay of many students.
"I know a lot of students were disappointed who had classes early in the morning," fourth-year Commerce student Clark Walker said.
Third-year College student Stephen Carlson said the bakery was the only good option for his early morning dining needs.
"I would always go to the bakery in the morning to get bagels or muffins," Carlson said.
Although some students initially may be upset by the change, Whedbee said he believes it makes a lot of sense for all parties involved.
"I meet with the Student Council and all the student leadership groups because I really try to keep the students informed about where we're going," Whedbee said. "The first response is: 'The Pav is closed early. The Bakery is gone. What are we going to do?'"
Whedbee added, however, that he thinks students recognize the long-term benefits of the change.
"I think they realize that our goal is to create places where we meet the needs of the students without putting us in the Pavilion with 20 students and 20 employees at 9 [p.m.]," he said.
Whedbee said the low demand for the Pav late at night was a strong contributor to the change.
"What we saw over the last couple of years is that there is no business in [the Pav] between 8 [p.m.] and 11 [p.m.]," Whedbee said. "Maybe a few students would walk in, but there was not enough business to sustain a big location. ... The bakery served no purpose late at night."
U.Va. Dining officials consequently decided to consolidate the operation and create a location where students could still eat late in the evening and use their Plus Dollars.
"It is a business model that makes sense while providing the students with what they need," he said.
U.Va. Dining also is working with the University to provide a few additional options. One option includes adding to the Pav a case with all of the "nice desserts" that one used to find at the bakery. Another plan in the works is a possible coffee shop cart that would potentially operate in the Clark Hall Mural Room during certain hours of the day, Whedbee said.
First-year Nursing student Sara Gonzalez, who said she enjoys the stock of Ben & Jerry's ice cream at the other C3 locations, agreed that there needs to be a place for students to get food on central Grounds late at night, though she said she would still prefer something closer to first-year housing.
"With the Pav nearby, I'm already coming this way for food," first-year College student Austin McClanahan said. "So if I'm going to be here anyway, now I can pick stuff up to bring back to the apartment."
The store will be a chance for some students to add more variety to their dining experiences. McDonald said she would consider going to the store if it offers different options from the Pav or for a snack.
Some students, however, are less excited about the change.
"I live in new dorms, so the Root Cellar is more convenient for me," first-year College student Jason Walke said.
Walke added that he would normally just go to the Tree House if he needed food late in the evening.
Kingsley noted that the new store would not be a logical option for many students, including herself, because she generally is not on Grounds after 8 p.m.
"Most students my age have cars and can easily drive out to Harris Teeter," she added.
Kingsley said she believes it is a different story for first years who may have more trouble getting to the grocery store. The C3 Store would make sense for them from a transportation standpoint, she said.
Walker said he sees some value to the store in between classes, but he doesn't think it's entirely necessary. "We do have vending machines all over campus," he said.
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