1. Stephens LifeMarch 2, 2009312 Community
-Rebecca Hiatt-
Stephens Life Staff
Yourstomachisgrowling,there’snofoodin
your dorm room and the commons is closed.
When Stephens students are faced with this
dilemma, they often order Gumby’s pizza.
Gumby’s, which is located at 1201 East
Broadway, is just down the road from the Ste-
phens campus. Also, with reasonable prices,
Gumby’s won’t put a student over budget.
“Me and a friend of mine order Gumby’s
about four times a month,” said senior digital
film major Kristin Loveland. “The pizza tastes
great and it’s cheap, yet you don’t have to sacri-
fice the quality. Plus, since Gumby’s is so close
to campus, it takes only about 10 to 25 minutes
to get here, although on the phone they say it’ll
take around 45 minutes.”
In business since 1998, Columbia’s
Gumby’s offers a large menu selection. Sal-
ads, wings, and of course, pizza, are only a
fewitemsonthemenu.AccordingtoGumby’s
manager Noah Schmidt, the most commonly
ordered item from Stephens girls is Pokey
Stix, which are strips of garlic cheese bread.
“The way to a Stephens girl’s heart is
through Pokey Stix. They seem to flock to it,
especially during finals. I’ve also noticed that
Stephens girls love ranch,” Schmidt said with
a laugh.
Being frequent customers, Stephens stu-
dents have gained other reputations as well.
JuniorDecemberHarmonworkedatGumby’s
from July to Dec. 2008.
“The most annoying habits that Stephens
girls are known for are that sometimes they
don’t tip, and some girls don’t answer their
phones to let the delivery guy in the dorm and
deliveries get held up,” Harmon said.
Schmidt has noticed a particular trait about
Stephens students. Inside Gumby’s is a change
machine, and students would use the machine
to get quarters for their laundry.
“I would see girls come in and use the ma-
chine and whip out $5 bills and clean out all
the quarters. I’d laugh and be like, ‘Oh no!’”
he said. “At one point I had to put a sign on
the machine that said, ‘Stephens can’t use ma-
chine for laundry.’”
With college students being Gumby’s key
target market, they are open until 3 a.m.
Thurs. through Sat. and until 2 a.m. every
other night of the week in order to accommo-
date the needs of hungry students. This is also
their busiest time of operation.
“We’d still be busy at 2 a.m. and I’d occa-
sionally get drunk people calling who want
pizza. They’d say the weirdest things, but it
was really funny,” Harmon said.
The largest delivery order for one location
that Schmidt can remember is 125 pizzas.
“The order was for an apartment complex
who wanted to give pizzas to every unit. It
took a few hours to make all the pizzas, and it
took up all of our ovens,” he said.
Another factor that contributes to a busy
night at Gumby’s is bad weather. Two years
ago, right before Columbia was hit was 16
inches of snow, Gumby’s received a humon-
gous amount of orders.
“We really don’t mind delivering pizzas
in bad weather, as long as you tip the driver
well,” Schmidt said. “Tipping is important in
general, because drivers really appreciate it
and they’ll always remember you and when
people don’t tip they’ll run into bad karma.”
Avoiding deliveries to save some money,
some students decide to simply walk to
Gumby’s. Residents of Columbia Hall, like
sophomores Hannah Brady and Heatherlee
Evans, enjoy Gumby’s about once a week.
“It’s really a convenient place to go to since
it’s right across the street, and the atmosphere
is so much fun with it’s crazy red and green
walls,” Brady said. “They also sell T-shirts and
cups that only cost a dollar.”
Evans chuckles at this and adds, “We have
a whole Gumby’s cup collection, and we
have an entire album on Facebook of just us
at Gumby’s.”
With a close location and tasty, inexpensive
pizza in its plain white box, Gumby’s contin-
ues its reputation as being the students’favor-
ite pizza place.
“They’re awesome, and they’re good
customers,” Schmidt said about students
at Stephens. “You don’t mess with the
Stephens girls!” n
Gumby’s a staple of student life
Taste,convenience keep Stephens’students coming back for more
REBECCA HIATT/Stephens Life
Got a late-night
craving for Gumby’s?
1201 E Broadway
(573) 874-8629
Monday 4:00 p.m.to 2:00 a.m.
Tuesday 4:00 p.m.to 2:00 a.m.
Wednesday 11:00 a.m.to 2:00 a.m.
Thursday 11:00 a.m.to 3:00 a.m.
Friday 11:00 a.m.to 3:00 a.m.
Saturday 11:00 a.m.to 3:00 a.m.
Sunday 12:00 p.m.to 12:00 a.m.
(Dining Room closes at 10:00 p.m.on
Sundays)
Happy Hour 4:00 p.m.to 9:00 p.m.