The 24 Shop opened Sunday in the Denton Community.
Dining Services opened the doors of its newest convenience store in the Denton Community on Sunday, and officials said the shop was full throughout the night even though students were just returning from spring break.
24 Shop, which is attached to the new 251 North dining hall scheduled to open in the fall, officially opened at 5 p.m. Sunday and will remain open 24 hours a day until the end of the semester. Dining Services Assistant Director Bart Hipple said the store — which is significantly smaller than the Cambridge Community’s Snack ‘n’ Shop — is targeted for students who are “spur-of-the-moment shopping.”
“Many of the items that you plan ahead for will not be there,” Hipple said. “School supplies and beauty supplies won’t be sold there. This is for people just stopping by.”
And a large crowd of curious students did just that Sunday evening.
According to Hipple, 47 people came into the shop in just the first half hour, and that flow of customers was consistent until about 1:30 a.m. Traffic slowed after 3:15 a.m., but there was an influx of morning customers at about 6:15 a.m. yesterday, he said.
Hipple said the high volume of shoppers could potentially be attributed to the lack of Late Night at the North Campus Diner on Sunday.
“Late Nite was not open [Sunday night], so the 24 Shop might have gotten those customers,” he said. “We’re excited to see what it’s like now that Late Night is open. 47 people filled the shop. That is very, very full.”
Although Hipple was pleased with the high turnout, he said it is hard to compare the successes of the various on-campus convenience stores, which all target different types of students.
“The way we designed the shops is for people in that community,” Hipple said. “Commons Shop and Leonardtown Shop are for people with kitchens. Union Shop, for commuters filling their backpacks. The other two are in dorm communities, so people are stocking their rooms. We’re particular to serving that community.”
Dining Services didn’t announce the shop’s opening until Saturday morning on its Facebook page, “The Shops @ Maryland.” Hipple said the department decided to delay notifying the public of the store’s opening, just in case it wasn’t ready in time.
“One reason we didn’t advertise is because we didn’t want to raise false hopes,” Hipple said, noting 251 North and the attached coffee and ice cream cafe are still scheduled to open next semester.
Hipple said the new store features a grill that serves hot dogs and burritos — the only of its kind on North Campus to sell such foods. In addition to the hot food, many students were excited to finally have a convenience store open around the clock.
“It’s very convenient that it’s open 24 hours a day,” sophomore economics and finance major Chelsea Yin said. “I love it.”
Freshman biology major Andrew Macaluso, a Denton resident, said he was relieved to see the shop’s hours are more convenient than the Snack ‘n’ Shop’s, which students often call the “Incon” due to its limited hours.
“I was really excited when I came back and found out it was open because it’s so convenient,” Macaluso said. “There’s no need to walk all the way to the Incon because now there’s one in the Denton Community. I think it’s a really good idea to open it up for the rest of the semester. I went in it yesterday, and it’s very nice, much nicer than the Incon.”
Yin, who is a resident assistant in the Denton Community, said many of her residents have already dreamed up a new nickname for the 24 Shop akin to the one assigned to the Snack ‘n’ Shop.
“They call it the ‘Con,'” she joked.
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