Jimmy John's provides late-night food deliveries

Jason Kusterer, a late-night delivery worker at the local Jimmy John's, smiled as he recalled one instance when a Richmond student had ordered two subs on a Saturday night, but had fallen asleep before the delivery could be made.

"I was standing outside the apartment, and the guy wouldn't pick up his phone," Kusterer said. "While I was standing at the door, one of the customer's friends came over to visit him.

"The dude went inside, took the wallet from sleeping guy's back pocket and paid me for the food."

It was not the first time Kusterer had a customer fall asleep on him.

"And it won't be the last," he said, but this time at least the order was paid for.

For many hungry students who leave the lodges at 2 a.m. on a Saturday night, long after the Heilman Dining Center and Tyler's Grill have closed their doors, this is but one option: delivery, most often in the form of sandwiches or pizzas.

"There are no late-night options on campus," said junior Brendon Cristobal. "And The Cellar doesn't count, because midnight is not late in college terms."

So what is it like for the late-night delivery guys who work long shifts to satisfy the insatiable appetites of ravenous college students?

Jimmy John's, which opened in the Village Shopping Center on May 21, 2009, receives a lot of business from University of Richmond students, said Matt Minns, general manager of Jimmy John's.

"At 2 a.m. City Limit [a neighboring bar, also popular with Richmond students] closes and parties are finishing on campus, so it's important that we're open late," Minns said.

Jimmy John's stays open until 3 a.m. for dining in or ordering out. Pizza companies are the biggest late-night competition for Richmond students' business, Kusterer said. The majority of Jimmy John's deliveries that occur past midnight are for Richmond students, he said.

Although most of the deliveries to campus happen without issues, there have been some instances in which intoxicated students make the job of a late-night deliverer all the more taxing.

"Last weekend, my friend fell asleep after ordering Jimmy John's," said junior Michael Schmittlein. "He's now 'blacklisted' from Jimmy John's."

Ryan Stumps, assistant manager of Jimmy John's said the 'blacklisting' rumor was not true. Jimmy John's — like many companies that deliver — records the caller's dorm or apartment information after the first order.

That way, for subsequent orders, drivers already have the person's information on file, which makes for a quicker delivery. If a deliverer can't contact the customer, the order is simply brought back to the shop, he said.

"We don't even put a notation on the computer," Ryan said.

Kusterer said that there were times when he was amused by the "drunken silliness" that inevitably came with late-night deliveries to campus.

A Westhampton College student, who wished to remain anonymous, said she remembered the time when she woke up regretting her decision to order pizza the previous night.

When the Chanello's Pizza deliverer told her he only had $40 worth of change for her $100 bill, she was so enthusiastic about the pizza that she gladly told him to keep the change.

"I paid $60 for a large cheese pizza," she said. "But when you're that drunk, you'll do anything for Chanello's."

But there have been some cases when people have gone too far.

Kusterer said his co-worker had been making a delivery to Boatwright Memorial Library on a Thursday night when a group of young people stole a couple of orders from the Jimmy John's vehicle.

The worker met the student halfway up the hill in front of the library to deliver the sandwich, but when he turned around to walk back to his car, he noticed the light was on and people were rummaging through the vehicle, Kusterer said.

"He yelled and started to run down the steps, but the kids took off," Kusterer said.

But these instances are rare, and the vast majority of deliveries to campus are smooth and uneventful, Kusterer said. With the high number of students ordering food during the week and weekends, some adverse instances are bound to happen.

Nick Milley, a junior, expressed how his craving for a late-night meal drove him to a new low.

"A Papa John's delivery guy was handing a pizza to a girl, but I offered him an extra two dollars if he gave me the pizza instead," Milley said. "He refused my proposal."

Contact staff writer Fred Shaia at fred.shaia@richmond.edu