Students craving an evening crab dip and lava cake will soon have to find their fixes elsewhere.
Adele’s will close for dinner starting next semester when the University of Maryland moves to an anytime-dining program, but it will remain open for lunch, Dining Services spokesman Bart Hipple said.
He said Dining Services and Stamp Student Union have not yet decided the direction of the restaurant after the fall semester but will continue to explore options.
“Adele’s is something that people really, really love on this campus,” Hipple said. “It’s iconic – the name Adele with Adele Stamp – and it’s a very nice-looking and -feeling space, and the windows are gorgeous. So I think there wants to be some deliberate thought about making a big change, which makes sense.”
Adele’s currently accepts resident dining points as well as regular money as payment, but the new dining program will eliminate the points system in favor of unlimited-access meal plans. Without this system, there would be no way for the restaurant to generate a profit.
“We looked at [the anytime-dining system] and tried to figure out a way to make that work that would make any kind of sense at all, and we couldn’t do it,” Hipple said.
Beginning in the fall, the restaurant will accept Dining Dollars, which will be similar to the current Terp Bucks, at lunch. Dining Dollars will be accepted at all permanent locations operated by Dining Services, as well as certain locations in the Stamp cafeteria.
Students flock to Adele’s at the end of each semester, when the 40-point daily cap is instituted at the dining halls. The cap does not apply to food purchased at Adele’s.
“I go to Adele’s to spend my extra dining points, so since we really won’t have a point system next year, I guess that kind of makes sense,” freshman Chinese major Mei Edwards said.
Elizabeth Langlois said she goes to Adele’s only occasionally.
“I guess it’s kind of upsetting that there’s less of a choice for dinner, but I don’t really care that much,” the freshman computer science major said.
Hipple said Dining Services will continue working with Stamp to decide how to best use the space.
“We’re on the same team,” he said. “We want good for the students, we want good for the faculty and staff, and we want the best for The Stamp, but [while] making sure we agree what that vision is.”
