No more late-night smoothies and Bosco sticks from the basement of Koch Commons — Pit Stop is sliding its doors closed for good.
Popular among the first-year students who lived in nearby Brady and Dowling, the Pit Stop was a place for students to meet, hang out and take a break during late-night study sessions. But declining sales and food services restructuring led Director of Dining Services Todd Empanger to the decision to permanently close the snack shop.
“I go all the way to top administrators to let them know what we’re doing, Empanger said regarding the decision-making process. “I also talked to Residence Life, Student Affairs and Campus Life, so those are the main people.”
Some students, such as junior Ashley Engels, are sad to see the Pit Stop leave.
“I am really sad about losing the opportunity to purchase smoothies and milkshakes,” Engels said in an email. “I personally enjoy having smoothies as a snack when studying as a healthy alternative to all the chocolates and goodies at Summit Marketplace.”
Engels explained she would often go to Pit Stop when she didn’t feel like walking to the Anderson Student Center, particularly on cold or rainy days. She said she frequented Pit Stop after cheer practice because nothing else was really open.
“If the hours were more convenient and if Pit Stop was advertised as heavily as everything else, I think more people would go there,” Engels said.
According to Empanger, Pit Stop management added morning and late hours and expanded the menu to try to attract customers and raise sales. Management met with students on the Dining Service Committee and members from Campus Activities, conducted surveys and listened to students on social media.
But none of the these strategies could revive business in the little corner shop, and Empanger made the final decision to close the place in January.
Pit Stop employed a 26 total of workers, who were scheduled from two to six hours a week.
“We only had one full-time staff over there and then the rest were students,” Empanger said, “So that full-time will be reassigned to another food service area.”
In total Empagner said Dining Services employs between 400-450 student employees who work 2-12 hours a week.
Empagner said there no immediate plans for the Pit Stop space, nor will another dining operation likely open there.
Emily Sweeney can be reached at swee4225@stthomas.edu.