I work night shift in a small town. There’s never been much open late, but we used to have a 24-hour Kroger, Meijer, and Wal-Mart. I typically pack my lunch, but on days that I couldn’t I’d swing through Kroger around 2-3am and grab a deli salad or something. It was convenient, reasonably priced, and decently healthy.

Then covid happened. All the aforementioned places started closing at 7pm, presumably so they could “deep clean” everything every night. Well, covid went away around here months ago, but night hours never came back. The corporate overlords decided that it wasn’t worth it to staff the places after dark, and covid was a great excuse, so everything closes by 11pm or midnight now.

Last night was the perfect storm. My wife and kids are out of town, so there’s no dinner leftovers to take for 2am supper. I woke up around 12:30 and had to be in at 2:30PM to qualify some people, and there was no time after that to go home and make anything before my road shift started, so I hit up Culvers for my 5pm breakfast/brunch, and went to work. I started getting hungry again a little after 11pm, and figured I’d try to make it out to Meijer before they closed at midnight, but on my way there I had to deal with some juvenile stupidity that took a few hours to resolve, so I missed that window.

At this point, the only choices are four gas stations. All the grocery stores are locked up tight to save us from covid, the fast food places can’t get anybody to work (and rolling through there in a marked squad is inadvisable anyway) so they’re closed, and home is too far from town to go there to raid the fridge. So I hit up the Marathon and bought some overpriced spinach dip (had some leftover corn chips from last night’s dinner at the PD, and hey, spinach is healthy, right?) and a can of ravioli….because that’s pretty much all they have unless you want potato chips or jerkey.

I took that stuff back to the PD and began to get out of my car. I was juggling a can of ravioli, a jar of spinach dip, two cell-phones, my water bottle, and my dead radio battery (because it’s ok to work me 16 hours straight, but we can’t get radio batteries that last more than 8)…you can see where this is going. I dropped everything on the ground out in front of the PD. The Ravioli got dented and spinach dip exploded everywhere (including all over me). So I cleaned up the spinach mess and all the broken glass and went inside to cook my Ravioli. I then discovered that no bowls in the break-room cupboard. Day shift used them all and didn’t get more. I know better than to put the metal can in the microwave, so I found a red solo cup in the cupboard. That should work, right? I dumped the ravioli in the cup and put it in the microwave for 2 min. A minute and 30 seconds in, I checked it and discovered this:



I cleaned the microwave, ate a bit of the still cold plastic-infused ravioli, and dumped the rest. Dinner ended up being half a bag of plain corn chips with no dip. Thanks for nothing, Kroger.

Fuck man. When there is nothing open to feed on duty LE, what the fuck? Around here you could get Whataburger. They have Apple cranberry chicken salad or you can order a grilled chicken sandwich. Other than Whataburger it’s pretty much the same around here. Damn grocery stores close early, everything does. Nothing is open at night but the got damn bars sure as shit are.

Love me some Whataburger! Sadly, they haven't made it this far north...which might actually be a good thing as I doubt I could resist that triple bacon burger with cheese, and I'd weigh 400lbs, lol!

I used to sneak into a neighboring jurisdiction after bar close to get freshly made gut bombs from the 24 hour White Castle. But I was not stealthy enough and everybody else, including dispatch, wanted me to get gut bombs for them too. It got be a PITA so I quit going and just packed my lunch. Duluth Trading has some great lunchboxes and bags!
And the highly secretive gut bomb run came to light when I rocketed past the neighboring jurisdictions pissy Sergeant and he called my Sergeant to bitch about me. My Sergeants price for silence was his own gut bomb order. It went downhill from there.

If you're out pass 9pm, your likely one of a dozen people.
It like a ghost town.

Nothing open to grab something to eat SUCKS!

That sucks donkey balls.

Another reason I really can’t complain too much about suburban living. As appealing as it seems at times to live out in the cornfields, I don’t know if the inconveniences would be too inconvenient.

-Rob

Pretty much the same thing here in Anchorage. Grocery stores that were 24 hours closed early and have never gone back to overnight. You want something to eat, well there's 2 McDonald's and 2 Taco Bells that are open 24 hours. Hospital cafeteria closes at 2300 on weeknights and 2000 on weekends.

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Originally posted by YooperSigs:
I used to sneak into a neighboring jurisdiction after bar close to get freshly made gut bombs from the 24 hour White Castle. But I was not stealthy enough and everybody else, including dispatch, wanted me to get gut bombs for them too. It got be a PITA so I quit going and just packed my lunch. Duluth Trading has some great lunchboxes and bags!
And the highly secretive gut bomb run came to light when I rocketed past the neighboring jurisdictions pissy Sergeant and he called my Sergeant to bitch about me. My Sergeants price for silence was his own gut bomb order. It went downhill from there.

Lol! No white castle around here, and I've never even had one, but I've heard they can do a number on ya. Technically, the gas stations and grocery stores are actually in a neighboring jurisdiction. My town has little to pick from even during the day, and it's all buttoned up by 9pm. They don't mind if we go over there to eat, though...it's only a couple of minutes away. We used to have a steak and shake that was open 24 hours and we'd eat there a lot, but it's been closed for years. There are stories from back in the day of guys doing exactly what you describe...running to the big city 35 miles away...but these days with GPS and AVL that's pretty much dead.

One permissible way to do that is take a psych commitment or juvenile detention on a transport and pick something up while you're there. That has it's own hazards, though. One of my buddies had just dropped an EDP off at the psych facility and was on his way back when some crazy chick threw a whiskey bottle at his windshield. He ended up chasing her on foot and got her detained, but got kicked in the nuts for his trouble. Turns out the locals were already looking for her....she'd just broken into a liquor store, which is where she got the bottle.

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Another reason I really can’t complain too much about suburban living. As appealing as it seems at times to live out in the cornfields, I don’t know if the inconveniences would be too inconvenient.

It does have it's downsides. On the upside, it is pretty quiet. As long as I remember to pack my lunch, I like it. I've also lost 40lbs since covid started from running more consistently and eating better, so I guess it's not all bad that the fast food places aren't open anymore.

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Hospital cafeteria closes at 2300 on weeknights and 2000 on weekends.

Ours closes before that, but at least you can raid the EMS fridge in the ER for string cheese and yoghurt if you happen to be in there for something. It makes a halfway decent meal when you're stuck in there for hours babysitting some drunk or doper that the jail won't take without medical clearance.

That’s awful. I don’t even know where to begin. As a last resort, might you consider buying a couple boxes of protein bars as emergency “everything is closed and my spinach dip exploded all over the sidewalk” backup? I have a small hydration bladder pack I take to work that has one compartment filled with Pure Protein bars, another with Clif bars, and another filled with little Costco keto dark chocolate squares. If I forget to make lunch, or drag ass in the morning and don’t leave time (like this morning, most likely), then at least I’m not totally out of luck. I work early mornings, so it’s not like I don’t have options, but I have some pretty serious dietary restrictions that make fast food a no, and heading to the local grocery store not much better.

Either way, I hope your next shift goes better with the food situation. Few things worse than being hungry and watching your food options get ruined before you get to them.

I remember when I worked shift work and wasn’t able to leave the building to grab food. This was before door dash and there were no food delivery services. I would go through my phone begging family and friends to drop off food. My last shifts were weekends and holidays 8a-8p, but my relief would routinely call out late which would leave me until at least midnight. I remember being so hungry that I was squirting relish and ketchup packets in my mouth that were found in the break room. Sorry, about your struggles and thanks for the work you do. I’m freaking over the whole Covid bullshit.

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As a last resort, might you consider buying a couple boxes of protein bars as emergency “everything is closed and my spinach dip exploded all over the sidewalk” backup?

Yeah I usually have stuff like that stashed at the PD, but for whatever reason I was out that night. And I usually eat really good....my wife always makes extra dinner so I take leftovers, and she's a good cook! It's all good...one night without a decent meal won't kill me. It was just one of those frustrating situations that gets you all pissed off at the time, but you look back and laugh about later. .

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I remember being so hungry that I was squirting relish and ketchup packets in my mouth that were found in the break room.

Holy hell, man, that's horrible! Can't say I've ever been to that point...that sounds like a pretty miserable night!

I don't buy the whole covid excuse, either. Now all the people who used to shop at night (and there were quite a few) have to shop during the day when the store is crowded...spreading yet more covid. It doesn't make any sense.

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Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
As a last resort, might you consider buying a couple boxes of protein bars as emergency “everything is closed and my spinach dip exploded all over the sidewalk” backup?

That's what I do. I always have protein bars, tuna pouches, and the single-serving packs of mixed nuts on hand, along with a healthy supply of bottled water.

After working for power companies for 40 years , I learned to never leave the house without SOMETHING to eat . A simple callout that you thought would only take a couple of hours could easily turn into 10-12 hrs or more in a place where there is no electricity anyway . And everybody had a stash of Vienna sausage , Sardines and packs of saltines under the seat .

Yeah, I've done the 'poles and cables' thing myself. One time it went 24+ hours straight.

I decided to up my supply of things to eat after that.

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Originally posted by 92fstech:
Yeah I usually have stuff like that stashed at the PD, but for whatever reason I was out that night. And I usually eat really good....my wife always makes extra dinner so I take leftovers, and she's a good cook! It's all good...one night without a decent meal won't kill me. It was just one of those frustrating situations that gets you all pissed off at the time, but you look back and laugh about later. .

Ahh, gotcha. The rare perfect storm of "suck." Those happen.

I worked 3rd shift for several years back in the mid-2000’s and loved it, Wawa* was my savior. Really the only thing open at 3 am for “lunch” which was almost always a hoagie and a soup.

*Philly area convenience store…THE BEST!

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Originally posted by PASig:
I worked 3rd shift for several years back in the mid-2000’s and loved it, Wawa* was my savior. Really the only thing open at 3 am for “lunch” which was almost always a hoagie and a soup.

*Philly area convenience store…THE BEST!

I love WAWA stores! None here where I live in Colorado, but big in Florida. Great sandwich bar operation! Great fresh-brewed coffee! Great locations with good lighting and parking. Clean, clean, clean!

I think it is a Midwestern/east coast chain operation. Every one I have experienced has been truly excellent any time of day.

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Originally posted by LoboGunLeather:


I think it is a Midwestern/east coast chain operation. Every one I have experienced has been truly excellent any time of day.

Not Midwest.

They started in Southeastern PA, basically the Philadelphia metro region and South Jersey and spread out from there.

The Wawas in VA and FL are a very recent thing, like past 10 years.

Never been to a Wawa, but I spent a lot of time in Western PA growing up, and they have Sheetz, which were always pretty decent. Closest thing we have here is Speedway, and it's not even close. They do serve food, but they have been closing the kitchen at 10 or 11 since covid because they can't get people to work.

Thank you for your service. The story was funny, and yes, I have been there before.