The Devil’s Den Convenience store (D-Den), located in the lower level of the HUB, is one of the most visited places on campus; it provides students with a wide variety of merchandise including snacks, food, daily necessities and postcards. Operating seven days a week until midnight, the convenience store has been serving faculty, staff and students diligently at all times. Though it is such a popular place, there are stories that faculty and students may never heard of. Mike Medvid, the supervisor of the D-Den, shared some information that may help further understand the convenience store that plays such an important part in each Dickinsonian’s life.

“Originally, there was a small section within the bookstore, which carried snacks and other convenience items that were only available during the bookstore hours,” said Medvid. “We then decided to open a special area to extend the opening hours until midnight and to enlarge the selection of the commodities with regard to better serve the students and faculties.”

In accordance with this philosophy, the D-Den officially marked its opening in the fall of 1993.

Besides providing students with various kinds of snacks, the D-Den also offers a wide range of services that few students may ever heard of. You can get discount movie tickets for the Regal Cinemas and Carlisle Theatre, and even tokens that can be used at the farmer’s market from the D-Den. Meanwhile, the D-Den also provides change making service, laundry cards and Carlisle borough trash bags.

Dickinson College is proud of its sustainable tradition; likewise, the D-Den took a series of initiatives in accordance with the college’s belief. First of all, the convenience store eliminated the use of polystyrene cups a few years ago and switched to paper cups only. It also cut back on the number of brands of bottled water that are sold and provided students with free filtered water if they use their own container.

Moreover, the D-Den convenience store tries to get as much merchandise from local vendors as possible, which means that a truck from a local facility stops by and drops off the shipment of merchandise. This reduces the packing materials and fuels that are used by long-distance shipment.

One of the most common concerns that students voice about the D-Den is the relatively higher price of goods there compared to local supermarkets. Medvid said that unlike big supermarkets which usually purchase their merchandise in huge bulk, the D-Den, in order to ensure the quality and freshness of the incoming products, can only purchase its goods in small quantities each time, which automatically raises the prices.

Beyond that, as Medvid said, some of the commodities in the D-Den are actually selling at a lower price compared to other places in town.

When asked about the future plan and prospective of the Devil’s Den, Medvid said that the D-Den will always stick to its original belief, which is to provide excellent services and conveniences to all the staff, faculty and students at Dickinson College, to benefit them in the largest way possible.