Festival, a popular dining location at James Madison University, has reduced its weekend hours, now closing at 2:30pm on Fridays and reopening at 3pm on Sundays. This has limited students' dining options on campus weekends and caused mixed reactions. The director of Dining Services suggests alternatives like grab-and-go breakfasts from Java City locations. A new late-night eatery called Skyline After Dark will replace Festival's C-Store East, serving pizza and smoothies to satisfy students returning to campus on Friday nights. Dining Services will reevaluate the changes to Festival and all locations after this school year.

1. Turning to Other Weekend Dining Options
By: Alexis Groves
If you’re used to getting breakfast or weekend lunch at Festival, think again. The
dining location is no longer open seven days a week. Instead it closes at 2:30p.m. on
Fridays and reopens at 3p.m. on Sundays. Dinner hours are also shorter, ending at 7
p.m. during the week.
Students have mixed feelings about this news, since Festival is known for providing
a quick meal to take home.
On weekend mornings, some students prefer a quick breakfast or lunch from
Festival so they can start on their homework or run any weekend errands.
Since this is no longer an option, Stephanie Hoshower, director of Dining Services,
suggests East Campus’ other offerings.
“For students in a hurry, grab ‘n’ go breakfasts are available at two nearby Java City
locations in Festival and East Campus Library,” Hoshower said.
Junior Spencer Combs has changed his strategy for this year.” Now that Festival is
closed on Saturday, I probably wouldn’t eat breakfast on campus, I would eat off,”
Combs said.
While many students are happy eating JMU’s newest East Campus attraction,
Dolley’s (or E-hall), instead of Festival, some are not as satisfied.
“There’s not many places to eat on campus during the weekends, and now our
choices are that much more limited,” sophomore Brittany Abbott said.
But what about those students who go out on Friday nights and are looking for a
bite to eat when they return to campus? In response, Skyline After Dark is coming
soon and will take over the former location of Festival’s C-Store East.
Skyline After Dark will be a late-night option, serving pizza and smoothies,
Hoshower said. Its hours have not yet been determined.
“It was nice to have another convenient store in that location,” Abbott said.
“However, Skyline After Dark is a place I would definitely try.”
Whether these new hours for Festival are permanent is still up in the air. After this
school year, Dining Services will reevaluate Festival’s hours of operation, as well as
other dining locations, and try to correct any flaws, according to Hoshower.