Meal plan hours have frustrated USF St. Petersburg’s residential students since the semester began.
On weekdays, students must eat dinner before 7 p.m. if they wish to eat at the Reef. On weekends, the Reef is only open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. It is the only dining open on the weekends.
Last week, sophomore Sophia Constantine was successful in petitioning the Reef’s management to extend its hours on weekdays (see chart for current hours). According to Constantine, Sodexo managers Michael Bush and Louis Duran wanted to allow time for students to get accustomed to the new hours before asking for a trial with longer hours.
Duran said the first hours available during the school year were based on a record from the previous year of how many transactions occurred every 15 minutes. Management decided to change the hours because they saw a pattern of students coming in more often but buying less
Constantine knows the problem is not yet solved. She says she will wait about three weeks before asking students how they feel. If students aren’t satisfied, she will ask for a trial period to extend hours even further.
She says the Reef is hesitating to stay open after 7 p.m. because of the failure of last year’s Late Night Bites, where the Reef offered select items until 11 p.m. However, students could only pay for Late Night Bites with Sharkbites credit, which was purchased separately from meal plans.
Constantine knows students want more hours than what is available now.
“I’m standing right by them,” she said. Duran says he will not change the weekend hours until he sees more transactions during the weekend. Currently, the Reef gets one third of the traffic during the weekend that they receive during the week.
“There are no classes during the weekend so students should be able to come and eat,” he said. Students find the weekend hours problematic. Chelsea Kuzel, a freshman at USFSP, returned from the beach just after 6 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 31 and discovered that no dining options were open on campus. Kuzel lives in the University Student Center and does not have a kitchen.
Duran says keeping the Reef open limited hours enhances the quality and freshness of the food served, a major concern of students last year.
Duran knows the World of Wings Café does not compare to the Reef in terms of buying power, because it’s more expensive. He suggests students only eat there once or twice a week to get the most value out of their meal plan. Though WOW has a few vegetarian options, the management is working on incorporating more into the menu.
Constantine encourages students to attend Dining Advisory Committee meetings when they begin. The first meeting is Monday, Sept. 9 at 4 p.m. in the USC Regatta Room.
Reef Original Hours
Monday-Friday
7 – 9 a.m., noon – 2 p.m. and 5 – 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday, and Holidays
9 a.m.- 1 p.m., 4 – 6 p.m.
Reef Current Hours
Monday- Friday
7:30 – 9 a.m., 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., and 4 – 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday, and Holidays
9 a.m.- 1 p.m., 4 – 6 p.m.
World of Wings Hours
These hours remained the same:
Monday-Thursday
11 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Friday
11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday, and Holidays
Closed
Coral Café
These hours remained the same:
Monday-Thursday
7:30 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Friday
11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday, and Holidays
Closed
