Dining and Hospitality Services will open Alpine Express, attached to the Roaring Fork, on Sept. 26. The new convenience store will offer students coming home late on weekends a place to get food if they have missed the normal dining hours on campus.
Alpine Express will be open 6-11 p.m. and offer small groceries, drinks and other amenities seven days a week, said Mark Hayes, director of Dining and Hospitality Services, in an email.
Dining and Hospitality will track usage and adjust hours accordingly, Hayes said.
Student opinions varied on the effectiveness of the store hours.
“With how Alpine Village is developing, I think (Alpine Express) will be a good addition; another resource for students to get what they need,” said sophomore psychology and philosophy major Skylar Turner.
“For a convenience store (the hours) aren’t really convenient. It should be open until 1 or 2 a.m. For it to only be open from 6-11 (p.m.), it’s not really convenient at all,” said freshman electrical engineering major Jon Gomez.
A balance between healthy foods and snacks would also enhance the store, similar to how the Roaring Fork and the Lodge has diversified their meal choices, according to Turner.
Students who need to purchase small grocery items until the opening of Alpine Village can go to the bookstore, open 7:30 a.m.- 7 p.m. on Monday and 7:30 a.m.- 6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday.