Taco Bell: Best after midnight dining
The Pointer
ataub878@uwsp.edu
“Fourthmeal”: the meal after dinner and before breakfast. It is the meal that is craved by countless college kids and consumed throughout the wee hours of the morning. Fourthmeal is the meal that earned Taco Bell the “Best After Midnight Dining” award.
But what makes Taco Bell the most popular place to munch after midnight? Perhaps it is the bright interior or the complimentary sauce packets. Maybe it’s the late hours of operation or the cheap prices. But one thing is for sure: when Pointers get hungry after dark, they are typically found at the local Taco Bell.
“Sometimes the line stretches all the way out the door,” said freshman and frequent fourthmeal consumer Dayna Reisterer. She also said there have been times when she waited up to 45 minutes to get her food in the busy restaurant.
Part of this wait may come from the Big Bell Value Menu, which offers a range of food below a dollar.
But can this crowd be too much stress for employees? Shift manager Derek Silloway thinks so, and he is not the only one. Silloway said that many employees have walked out due to rude or drunk customers and other employees simply refuse to work on the weekends. Even prospective staff are warned of the out-of-hand situations before they are hired.
“I could write a book about all the crazy things that happen here on the weekends,” said Silloway, who said fist fights and alcohol poisoning are the reason they keep the police on speed dial.
“It’s like working at a bar,” Silloway said, “you never know what’s going to happen.”
Silloway also said he questions why people choose to eat at Taco Bell when there are visibly up to 100 people in the building and the wait can sometimes be longer than an hour. “It’s so close to campus, plus it’s one of the only places still open at 2 a.m.” said Reisterer.
Reisterer also said that going to Taco Bell is like the “after party.” She often sees a lot of old friends and even makes new friends while socializing in line. However, she too admits that the chaos can be “ridiculous,” recalling times where she has seen chairs stolen, loud arguments and students stumbling around.
But this behavior does not stop Reisterer or other students from going back to Taco Bell every weekend for one main reason: the food. Some students even go to great lengths to get to Taco Bell-enduring cold weather, hiking across campus and even hoping the fence between Taco Bell and the university parking lot.
“It’s delicious,” said Reisterer, “and when I am coming home late at night, it’s all I want.”
