The Hoot to close after 15 years of late night service
After 15 years in business, the Hoot will shut down at the end of the semester. The Hoot has faced staffing and financial challenges since the COVID-19 pandemic, and has reached a point where operations are “no longer sustainable,” Hoot management wrote in an April 8 Instagram post.
The pandemic spurred a number of challenges, management said, that hindered the Hoot until its end: rising food prices, staffing shortages and a loss of institutional culture.
“We believe that this is a natural time to close our doors,” the statement said.
Cassidy Chhay and Genesis Hahn, the Hoot’s general managers, said they’ve been in talks about a possible closure since the start of the school year. They’ve been in close contact with Housing and Dining about their decision to close, but are unsure about the future of late-night dining on campus.
“There’s no talk of a ‘new Hoot’ in terms of a student-run business,” Chhay, a Martel College senior, told the Thresher. “[The student center] always gets applications. We don’t have any say in that.”
The Ambassador Cafe, which shares a physical space with the Hoot and runs a satellite restaurant during the day, recently debuted a late-night noodle option over the weekend. H&D is “evaluating the feasibility” of expanding the cafe’s hours or offerings, said Beth Leaver, H&D’s interim assistant vice president.
“Housing & Dining is working to launch a hot food vending program on both sides of campus this fall,” Leaver wrote in a statement to the Thresher. “We’re also collaborating with the Student Association and Graduate Student Association to continue the dialogue around future late-night options.”
To celebrate its final semester, the Hoot is offering preorders for a merchandise sale.
“It’s been hard, but I’ve really enjoyed my Hoot experience,” Chhay said, a sentiment which Hahn, a Hanszen College senior, echoed.
The Hoot launched in 2010 as a small stand in West Servery and was met with open arms. Within a month of its debut, the Hoot was profiting $650 a night, worth just over $950 in 2025, and hailed by students as the “best thing that has happened to this university since it introduced coed housing.”
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