by William Newhart ’19
The cafeteria extended its hours on Jan. 4, now staying open until 5:30 p.m. and it will continue to stay open late through Friday as a trial run to see how much business the cafeteria will get in the extra hour.
Eighth grade student council members Grace Burton ’20 and Jaya Nayar ’20 approached Cafeteria Director Nipa Sritanoothamakul about doing a trial run to see how students reacted.
“We talked with Nipa and got a two-week trial. If it is successful enough, it will stay open, but if not it will close,” Nayar said.
The cafeteria staying open later allows for students taking the late bus to eat after a sports practice or extracurricular activity.
Sritanoothamakul said that due to the rain, there was less business than they expected the first week. According to an informal tally taken by the cafeteria, an average of 50 students have visited the cafeteria in the extra hour per day.
The snack bar, fridges and drink machines are available for use until 5:30 p.m., but the hot food and salad bar are closed.
“As an active member of the Harvard-Westlake community, who stays late two days a week, I really like having [the cafeteria] open later,” Natalie Winters ’19 said.