USC has several dining halls students can pick from, with a variety of hours. But even though there are many other options, there's one dining hall that needs to have better hours — Honeycomb Café.
Honeycomb Café is open from 10:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Fridays, closed on Saturday, and then opened from noon to 9 p.m. on Sundays. These hours may make it difficult for students who need to eat outside of these time slots due to late classes, homework, clubs, activities or even just getting hungry while hanging out with friends.
These hours are also a disservice to students who live closest to this dining hall, such as those who live in the Honors Residence, the dorm Honeycomb Café is located in. The lack of late-night and early morning hours could prevent students from being able to utilize this option due to classes and other activities that keep them busy.
Even though the food at this bee-themed dining hall may be delicious, the cafe's hours are not convenient enough for the students.
“If I have a late meeting for my sorority or something like that, sometimes I can’t eat here, which is not convenient,” first-year civil engineering student and Honors College resident Madeline Schellenberger said.
Many club meetings end late, such as sorority chapter meetings. Students could also be participating in other activities or studying late at the library. And if they get hungry after, there should be a dining hall open for them. People living in Honors Residence could prefer eating at Honeycomb Café since it is the most convenient for them. It could also be some students' go-to place to eat on campus.
Even if students do make it to dinner at the available hours, this dining hall is very busy. This could be due to the limited hours, since more students have to go during this small window of time. This could be an inconvenience to the students since there could be long lines to get food or no tables to sit at.
USC and the Carolina Food Co. review and modify each dining hall's hours based on traffic patters and guest feedback each semester, according to university spokesperson Collyn Taylor. Based on this data, they came to the conclusion that more people eat at the retail locations on campus during these times.
Although Carolina Food Co. works with students to find what is best for them, it can be hard to find the perfect solution.
Even though the data may show that students use retail swipes more often during these times, this could be because of these inconvenient dining hall hours. Since the dining halls are not opened, students must sacrifice their retail swipes in order to eat. These swipes can be used at retail locations on campus, such as Qdoba and Chick-fil-A, which are both opened later than Honeycomb Café and located further away.
Breakfast is also not currently being served at Honeycomb Café in the mornings since it opens at 10:30 am. Since this dining hall is just downstairs from the Honors Residence, it is the most convenient place for residents to eat. This is why not being opened for breakfast is a disservice to the residents. As many say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Some students find waking up for an 8 a.m. class dreadful, so knowing they can’t get food at their favorite, or most convenient, dining hall before, nor right after, doesn’t help.
"In the mornings, I have 8:30 (classes) every day, so the fact that they're not open a little earlier sucks also, so I can't really eat breakfast most days," Schellenberger said.
While the faculty at the dining hall work hard, Honeycomb Café should have more convenient hours for the students to eat since they don’t currently align with the wants and needs of their appetites.