It’s almost guaranteed that students in Elon University’s Belk Library are not going to be chipper, talkative or generally excited after midnight. But when there are free Panera treats Wednesday nights, they are.
Late Night Panera Wednesdays, as the custom has been dubbed, entails free baked goods, bagels and treats from the local Panera Bread for Elon students working and studying in the library around midnight on Wednesdays.
Dwight Davis, Belk Library’s late building night monitor, a familiar face to any Elon student who has ever persevered with their studies past midnight, is also a pastor of a small ministry in Burlington. In the fall of 2011, Davis started what would become a sort of unofficial, underground tradition among the late night library crowd.
“Our ministry has sort of partnered with Panera,” Davis said of the franchise known for its delicious, oven-fresh bakery items. “Everything they produce on Wednesday that they don’t sell, they donate to our ministry since we’re a nonprofit.”
Panera’s Day-End Dough-Nation program is a commitment to the community, in which they are able to support local, non-profit community programs which seek to provide hunger relief, while also cutting down on food waste. Organizations must apply online to be selected as beneficiaries of this program.
“We’re not the only group, but we [receive food donations] on Wednesday nights,” Davis said. “Other groups [receive donations] other nights.”
Davis and his ministry, God’s Word Foundation Christian Center, bring most of what they receive to the homeless shelter, but they save a portion of it for Davis to bring to the library for students working and studying late.
“We just thought, OK, students in the library are always hungry, so let’s give them something to eat,” Davis said.
Two years later, Wednesday nights have become a much more lively place.
Late Night Panera Wednesdays follow a simple routine. The two student employees at the Circulation Desk receive a phone call from Davis around 11:45 p.m. This is their cue to wheel out a cart or two to the loading dock area behind the building. Davis meets them there with trays of food. The employees and Davis roll the food back behind the Circulation Desk. Employees get first pick of the treats before Dwight rolls the food-filled carts over to the Writing Center, where he sets everything up for the students. They know students have been waiting for this moment all night.
Connor McKoy, a freshman library assistant, has worked the 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. shift several times this semester — his first semester as a Belk Library student employee.
Perks of working the late-night shift as a student employee? First dibs on what’s free that night.
“That’s the best part,” McKoy said. “And seeing people run down for free food, which provides me with entertainment.”
Though McKoy has worked at the library all semester, he didn’t learn about Late Night Panera Wednesdays until a few weeks into his job. McKoy was, by far, not the only one unaware of why Wednesdays at midnight were slightly more special than other times at the library.
But many students have yet to discover this phenomenon.
Junior Becca Cummings, another student worker at Belk Library, has worked the late-night shift on Wednesdays since her sophomore year.
“I remember the first time it happened, everyone thought it was just one of those special [one-time] things,” Cummings said. “By the time it happened the second and third week in a row, we had a couple of regulars.”
Now, she says, there’s always Panera on Wednesday nights. But she’s convinced only the students who are regularly in the library late at night know about it. She still talks to friends who have never heard of it, but those that have are committed enthusiasts.
“I plan my late nights to be Wednesday nights so I can get free Panera,” said Rachel Shippee, a sophomore student and employee at the Writing Center.
Every Wednesday, Shippee and her friends study near the Writing Center until midnight, the time Davis usually arrives with the highly anticipated Panera treats. They are rarely the only ones.
“Once they see the carts, students start lining up at the Writing Center,” Davis said. “When the announcement is made, students start running down the stairwell.”
It only takes about 15 minutes for the food to get wiped clean, according to Davis.
“I think it might add a little bit of enthusiasm,” he said. “But for me, it’s just [about] trying to bring a smile.”
Vicki Siler, a reference librarian who works at the Information Desk, often receives instant message chats online when she is at work, asking when “free Panera” is happening. She said the students who know about it really look forward to it.
Some student tour guides have even started mentioning it to prospective students and parents on tour when they stop into the library. Late Night Panera is not provided by the university, but Davis said he does not mind what students say about it, or even if they know why the food is provided.
“I’m not so sure that many students know [the back story],” Davis said. “But that doesn’t matter to me. I don’t care, as long as students enjoy it.”
Davis has a few students who usually stop and thank him, but for those who don’t know Davis is the real reason for their complimentary midnight snacks, he insists “it’s not an issue – I don’t need a pat on the back.”
Davis makes sure he sets aside the right amount of food for how many students he expects to be in the library on Wednesday nights. Davis has no idea how much Panera will donate from week to week, but he doesn’t want to let students down. It’s all about ministry for him.
“I just really enjoy trying to make people happy,” he said.