The Grand Market Place will be open 24 hours Spring semester on weekdays.

Grand Market Place will be open from Monday at 7 a.m. through Friday at 8 p.m., said Helen Zeigler, business affairs director. Regular weekend hours will continue.

Zeigler said the option was proposed several weeks ago by student government to provide more food options for students late at night.

"Students are having to leave campus to find places that serve them after midnight. For convenience and safety we want to provide the service," Zeigler said.

Also highly supportive of the change is Michael Scheffres, general manager of dining services company Sodexho.

Scheffres said the idea has been popular among students for a while.

"To be honest, anytime we have focus groups, students always ask for late night dining," Scheffres said.

Students will not be able to use their meal plans to pay for food past midnight, when the dinner plan ends, Zeigler said.

Scheffres said Sodexho is considering staying open all night during the weekend, and will make that decision based on student response during the week.

"It all depends on the traffic," he said. "It might not have to wait until next fall; it could happen in the spring."

He and Zeigler said they are not concerned about security. Scheffres said he is requesting that two campus police officers be available all night.