Asking anyone on campus where to go to get a quick late-night snack will likely elicit one of two answers, depending where the person lives. Anyone on the Owl’s Nest/Carle side of campus would direct you to Campus Convenience, while people on the Randall/Monadnock side would send you to Cumberland Farms. Obviously there are other options such as Ramunto’s Pizza, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, etc, but for a quick “grab and go” snack, the two convenience stores can’t be beat.
This year, however, there is a slight issue. At the time of print, both Cumberland Farms and Campus Convenience are closed for remodeling. This is proving to be more of an adjustment to students than any of us would have expected. I have to say, despite Keene being a college town, there are not as many places open late night as one would expect.
Even two of the three fast food places closest to campus (Burger King & Wendy’s) close the dining room portion of the restaurants at about 11 p.m.
Now, of course it is perfectly understandable why the two convenience stores are closed. On Cumberland Farms’ (which is affectionately known as “Cumby’s” to most people) website, it says they are doing a nationwide remodeling of their stores, in an effort to increase the customer experience.
That’s fantastic in my opinion. I love when companies actually show interest in their customers and take steps to better themselves. Campus Convenience (which has also earned itself a nickname among the student population, CamCo.) is using the same reason for being closed.
CamCo. is now under new management, and they are changing up the inside of the store in order to be a better store for customers. It is just strange, because as a freshman it was easy to take for granted how convenient it was to have easy access to late night food.
One of the reasons it seems so odd that we are down almost all our late-night food places is my experience while at other schools. Since Keene went on winter break before some of my friend’s schools, I visited the University of R.I. last year in December. The amount of places open there at around 2 a.m. is vastly different than here. It was totally normal to be able to walk into a pizza place and order a calzone in the early morning, or order a dish of pasta with meat sauce at a pasta house.
It’s completely different, because around here, there is nowhere to get a pasta dish past about 10 p.m.
It’s part of what gives Keene a real local charm though, because you really get to be familiar with a few shops, and the owners/employees.
It will be great to see the changes made to Cumby’s and CamCo. when all the renovations are done and the stores re-open. I did a little research into Cumby’s new store model and have to say it is rather impressive. There is a whole new look planned for the little gas station shop.
Cumby’s should be re-opening somewhere around September 23. As for CamCo. I have not heard any definite information, but one can assume it will be soon, from just walking past and looking inside.
Once the stores do open, they can be sure to expect a rush of relieved students able to once again grab their favorite late-night snacks and drinks.
David Padroza can be contacted at
dpadroza@keene-equinox.com
