If sophomores Lauren Lee-Houghton and Will Harlan had stumbled into Rick's Diner late Saturday night, they might have strolled across the blue-and-white checkered floor, considered the menu and assumed the staff was somewhere in the back.
They might also have noticed the girls studying organic chemistry weren't exactly the same kind of crowd they remembered.
The menu at Rick's still hangs on the wall. It offers a promise: "Open 24 Hours 7 Days a week." For studying orgo.
Rick's closed at the end of last year, so Lee-Houghton and Harlan went to McDonald's instead, currently the only campus restaurant open 24/7.
"I really don't like McDonald's at all," Lee-Houghton said.
Most everyone else there Saturday night agreed. They would never eat there during the day, and they would never eat there if there were anywhere else to go, they added.
It was 1 a.m. when four freshmen ordered Big Macs and settled in front of a flat-screen television showing college football highlights.
They could've ordered in from Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwich Shop or made the trek to Cosmic Cantina, but they came to McDonald's instead. The freshmen didn't think it was a bad choice. They hadn't heard of Rick's.
But Lee-Houghton and Harlan had.
"I loved Rick's," Harlan said.
Lee-Houghton agreed. "They gave you free pickles," she said.
Saturday night was slow at McDonald's. At one point, a large group trickled in, demanding that McDonald's make an early transition to the breakfast menu. The manager held strong and refused.
Rick's served breakfast at all hours.
Most of the tables at McDonald's were occupied Saturday night, but there was hardly more than a hushed buzz of conversation.
"No one mingles at McDonald's," Lee-Houghton said. "It's not in a central location.. It's just the kids from Main West."
At first, this logic seems backwards. Rick's, located on the first floor of McClendon Tower, is in fact much harder to get to from the heart of West than McDonald's.
But Edens Quadrangle, adjacent to McClendon, is home to sections of five fraternities and two selective living groups. On most weekend nights, Rick's was the natural destination for students leaving parties in the area. People mingled at Rick's.
Saturday night, there were Hawaiian leis scattered on the lounge chairs near McDonald's and some people wearing board shorts and bathing suits walked past the restaurant. Things were going on elsewhere.
Harlan ate reluctantly. "My inhibitions are lowered, and I'm forced to stoop to the level of eating here," he said.
He continued eating.
"You wake up the next morning and say 'I'll never do this again'. and then every weekend you do it," he added.
Sort of like the girl you can't stand, but end up with every night you go out?
"The keg troll?" Lee-Houghton clarified.
"Yes," Harlan exclaimed. "Exactly like that."
McDonald's is located on the second floor of the Bryan Center, a chutes-and-ladders conglomeration of a building with concrete, bright colors and a general lack of windows, many students have noted.
The Bryan Center's indoor materials are the same as the outdoor's-what can only be described as "Edens stone."
Food is served in paper bags at McDonald's. The line Saturday night stretched out away from the counter instead of along it.
Nobody stole french fries and sandwiches from strangers' orders while they waited to place their own.
There was plenty of polite conversation. Nobody was yelling. Nobody was recognizing anyone they knew. It was a final stop for the night.
Things used to be different at Rick's, Lee-Houghton and Harlan recalled. This was not the same crowd they remembered.
The Armadillo Grill is open until 2 a.m. It was closing when Lee-Houghton and Harlan decided to leave.
When Harlan realized he could have eaten there instead, he cursed in frustration.
If Lee-Houghton and Harlan had gone to Rick's late Saturday night, they wouldn't have seen anyone eating.
The orgo girls would have said that they were there because the study lounge upstairs was too noisy.
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