It’s a Saturday night in College Park, and you get the late-night munchies.
Upon realizing most restaurants, on-campus dining halls and convenience stores are closed, you stumble into one of the establishments on Route 1, namely Ratsie’s Pizza & Subs, Panda or D.P. Dough, for a late-night meal.
While eating, have you ever wondered what it is like to work the night shift at one of these food places? What would their managers and cashiers have to say?
By and large, late-night restaurant owners are more than happy to serve college students. If the students are happy to get food at night, the businesses are happy to provide, and sales at these food places tend to improve during the late night.
“It starts getting busy around 10:30 to 11 p.m. or so,” said Nathaniel Shyovitz, a driver for D.P. Dough and a 2008 alumnus. “Thursday, Friday and Saturday are our biggest days.”
Staff members at Panda agreed.
“Most of our business comes at night,” said Max Zheng, a cashier who works the late shift. “Students love our General Tso’s chicken.”
Although one might expect late-night cashiers to be annoyed or bothered by drunken college students in their restaurants, the reaction of most employees is surprisingly positive.
“They’re really fine,” Zheng said. “They are among my best customers, and they never give me any trouble.”
ga@umdbk.com
