What? Gatsby’s is gone?

By Tina Somchit

Bad news for some returning students and Forest City commuters, Gatsby’s Grill, which was located in the basement of the Campus Center, is closed this semester.

For new students who may not have a clue what Gatsby’s Grill was, it is most famous for the pizza it served at Waldorf. It had previously been open Sunday through Friday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., which means students could use their meal plan to buy a pizza of their choice to suppress their hunger at night.

The increased hours at the Warrior Crossing seems to have replaced what Gatsby’s Grill used to provide. Brian Keely, the Director of the Waldorf Conferences and Dining Services department, said, “The decision to go away from Gatsby’s and keep the Warrior Crossing open in the evenings came from feedback from students, coaches, and faculty.” There has been no evidence as to whether or not Gatsby’s Grill will come back because, as Keely mentioned, there have been some comments about not having the pizza option. He stated that the department would evaluate whether or not it should bring Gatsby’s back in the coming semesters.

Some returning students would prefer to have Gatsby’s Grill open. However, Marcus Walton, a Senior student who has had a meal plan since his first day at Waldorf, prefers the Warrior Crossing being open later. “I don’t miss Gatsby’s at all. I like keeping the Crossing open because it gives you more options. It’s a lot healthier,” he said.

This semester Waldorf College Conferences and Dining Services became a Waldorf-owned Department which would “focus more on the Waldorf Community, serve our needs, and be reactive to changing tastes, ideas, and trends in our area within our program,” Keely said. With that being said, becoming a self-owned department is not the reason for closing Gatsby’s Grill.