A new campus convenience store, Provisions on Demand (P.O.D.) Market, opened its doors on Nov. 22 in Neptune building 157.
The market is open to anyone and sells an array of items including freshly prepared sandwiches, salads and wraps, as well as typical convenience store products.
“There was a demand to open here for all the students living in this area,” said P.O.D. Market supervisor, Alex Feltz. “The mailroom is here, and it’s far from Knightstop.”
The P.O.D. Market is a chain convenience store that was created by Aramark Higher Education, which provides services to colleges and universities throughout North America. Other P.O.D. Market campus locations include FIU and UF.
“We not only provide food options, but we also focus on providing products for residential needs,” Feltz said.
Freshman Shannon Bradley is a Neptune resident and said it is really nice that the P.O.D. Market thought about opening a store for the kids on this side of campus.
“There are a lot of things that we can buy at the market that are not just food items,” she said. “If I need tissues or something, and don’t have a ride to Walmart, I can easily just walk downstairs and buy some.”
Students can use Knight Cash on any products and, beginning in spring semester, those with an unlimited meal plan can use that to buy meals, which include items such as a sandwich, wrap or salad and comes with chips and a normal sized beverage or water.
“Being a first-year college student, having transportation to go off campus is not always an option, so having a store like this that takes Knight Cash and meal plan is always a plus,” Bradley said.
The P.O.D. Market’s hours are Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m., Fridays from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
“Right now we are testing the hours, but it seems like a lot of students are coming in at night,” Feltz said.
