Capitalizing on the night-owl tendencies of college students, Midnight Munchies, delivers the convenient store to your door, from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. every night of the week.
Midnight Munchies is a Newark-based company that serves students living on and off campus and residents in the Newark area. The company's Web site features a large menu offering everything from French fries and ice cream cones, to Alka Seltzer and Marlboro Reds. The company's mission is to keep students safe.
Fran McNally, owner and founder of Midnight Munchies, said he conceived of the idea in order to stop students from going out late at night in potentially dangerous situations.
"Primarily when I came up with this concept, it was [for] students in particular that weren't familiar with the area, especially with the freshmen coming in," McNally said. "Instead of having to go out to a convenience store at two, three o'clock in the morning, bring a convenience store to them."
Since opening for the season in April, Midnight Munchies' number of sales has increased. McNally said he was very busy within the first week of the Fall Semester.
"Right now I'm just starting to gauge from the last seven days," he said. "It's been busy every night."
Josh Roarty, deliveryman for Midnight Munchies, said business since re-opening has increased by at least 50 percent. He said Hot Pockets and White Castle Burgers are among the service's most popular food products, while ping pong balls lead the race for the most popular non-food product.
Even with the amount of business Midnight Munchies has been getting, many students are still unaware of the service Midnight Munchies provides, but are excited about the idea.
University graduate student Leslie Mills said the service is unique because it has all the products of a popular convenience store but it is open later.
"Usually in the evenings most shops are closed and students have a problem getting some of these basic things," Mills said.
Junior Cashin Chandler said being able to eat at all hours of the night might not be the healthiest alternative for students.
"I feel that it could be useful, but then again it might promote people to eat throughout the whole night." Chandler said.
She said eating late at night can cause health-related problems, such as obesity. However, she did agree the service is safe and that other similar delivery services take a long time to deliver their products.
McNally said he plans to expand his business to other campuses across the nation, including Villanova University, Louisiana State University and the San Diego area.
He said these stores would tailor their offered products to the needs and preferences of the area. Each new business he opens could have a different menu.
"I have a lot of interested people who want to buy into the franchising," McNally said. "I've branded everything, trademarked everything. Every state, every store will have a whole different menu."
However, his business's popularity also has some other side effects.
"I get a lot of prank phone calls but what are you supposed to do about that?" he said.
He has also received requests for tobacco products from minors, but McNally said he and his employees are prepared to deal with such incidents.
"Biggest thing is, it doesn't matter if you look 35 years old, you're getting IDed," he said.
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to our feed
Contact us through email
Be the first to comment on this article!