Hours of Operation and Meal Prices

Commons Meal Prices

General Access Meal Prices

Breakfast: $12.00
- Children’s Rates:
  - Under 5yrs: Free
  - 5yrs to 7yrs: $8.00
Lunch: $14.00
- Children’s Rates:
  - Under 5yrs: Free
  - 5yrs to 7yrs: $10.00
Brunch/Dinner: $16.00
- Children’s Rates:
  - Under 5yrs: Free
  - 5yrs to 7yrs: $12.00

Faculty/Staff/Students Living Off-Campus Meal Pricing

Breakfast: $7.00
- Children’s Rates:
  - Under 5yrs: Free
  - 5yrs to 7yrs: $3.50
Lunch: $8.00
- Children’s Rates:
  - Under 5yrs: Free
  - 5yrs to 7yrs: $5.00
Brunch/Dinner: $12.00
- Children’s Rates:
  - Under 5yrs: Free
  - 5yrs to 7yrs: $7.00

Family Friendly Fridays: Fridays between 4:30 pm and 7:30 pm.
- Adults: $9.00
- Children Rates:
  - Under 5yrs: Free
  - 5yrs to 7yrs: $5.00

Please Note: Faculty and staff pricing applies to Bates faculty, faculty emeritus , staff and their immediate family paying to dine in Commons and students living off-campus. A Bates ID may be required for verification. We accept debit cards, credit cards, Apple Pay and Bates College gift cards, but we do not accept cash.

Commons Academic Hours of Operation

The Last Academic Board Plan Meal in May is lunch for underclassmen on Thursday, May 28.

Commons Summer Hours of Operation

Day	Hours of Operation
June 20-August 14	Breakfast: 7:00am-9:00am Lunch: 11:00am-2:30pm Dinner: 4:30pm-7:30pm *Exception is July 4
August 15-August 21	CLOSED
*July 4	Brunch: 10:30am-2:00pm Dinner: 4:30pm-6:00pm

Pre-Board Plan/Early Arrival Hours of Operation

Day	Hours of Operation
August 22	Breakfast: 7:00am-10:30am Lunch: 10:30am-2:30pm Dinner: 4:30pm-8:00pm Note for Lunch: The grill opens at 11:00am. The Platforms close at 2:00pm except Salad & Deli which are open until 2:30pm. Doors close at 2:30pm. Note for Dinner: The Platforms close at 8:00pm except Salad/Deli which is open until 8:30pm. The doors close at 8:30pm.
August 23-August 28	Breakfast: 7:00am-10:30am Lunch: 10:30am-3:30pm Dinner: 4:30pm-9:00pm Note for Lunch: The grill opens at 11:00am. The Platforms close at 2:00pm. Salad and Deli close at 2:30pm. Brick Oven remains open until 3:30pm. The doors close at 3:30pm. Note for Dinner: The Platforms close at 8:00pm except Pasta which is open until 8:30pm. The doors close at 9:00pm.
August 29	Breakfast: 7:00am-10:30am Lunch: 10:30am-2:30pm Dinner: 4:30pm-8:00pm Note for Lunch: The grill opens at 11:00am. The Platforms close at 2:00pm except Salad & Deli which are open until 2:30pm. Doors close at 2:30pm. Note for Dinner: The Platforms close at 8:00pm except Salad/Deli which is open until 8:30pm. The doors close at 8:30pm.
August 30-September 1	Breakfast: 7:00am-10:30am Lunch: 11:00am-2:30pm Dinner: 4:30pm-9:00pm Note for Lunch: The grill opens at 11:00am. The Platforms close at 2:00pm. Salad and Deli close at 2:30pm. Brick Oven remains open until 3:30pm. The doors close at 3:30pm. Note for Dinner: The Platforms close at 8:30pm except Pasta which is open until 9:00pm. The doors close at 9:00pm.
August 31	Resume Normal Academic Hours of Operation – First Board Plan is Dinner on August 31

Bobcat Den Hours of Operation

The Bobcat Den is closed during all Breaks and Recesses and will close at 3pm during Exam Weeks.

The Bobcat Den will repoen on September 2. Following are the hours of operation for the September 2-September 19.

Mondays: 7:45am-3:00pm
Tuesdays: 7:45am-3:00pm
Wednesdays: 7:45am-3:00pm
Thursdays: 7:45am-3:00pm
Fridays: 7:45am-3:00pm
Saturdays: Closed
Sundays: Closed

Be sure to check back after September 19 for additional hours and schedule information!

CurbCat Food Truck Hours of Operation

From July 7 through August 13, the CurbCat will be open every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.. The Cat will be serving daily specials alongside your favorite menu classics. Stop by and enjoy a delicious meal with a beautiful view of Lake Andrews—the Cat will be parked behind Smith.

Bobcat Catering Hours of Operation

Bobcat Catering is happy to serve the campus community daily. To guarantee we can accommodate your event, please keep the following in mind:

Standard catering requests need at least five business days’ notice.
If you’re requesting beer or wine, please give us a minimum of ten business days’ notice.

Be aware that requests made with less than five business days’ notice might not be fulfilled and will incur a late fee. We schedule on a first-come, first-served basis and can’t guarantee support for all late requests.

Upcoming Service Limitations:
please note important information below concerning times when catering service will be limited or unavailable.

Bobcat Catering will not be taking additional catering requests on:

August 15 – 21 2026 – Closed Facility Maintenance /DCCE Training
August 27, 2026 – New Student Arrival
September 1, 2026 – Convocation
October 2, 3, 4, 2026 – Back to Bates
November 18, 2026 – Harvest Meal
December 15, 2026 – January 12, 2027 – Closed
January 18, 2027 – MLK Day
May 23-31, 2027 – Senior Week/Commencement
June 4-19, 2027 – Reunion, Employee Enrichments, Trek Across Maine

Public Access to Commons

Commons is open to the public on a limited basis (see schedule below.) Groups larger than five will need prior approval which will be granted based on operational capacity. Note that groups larger than 10 will not be approved for access from 10:30a-2:30p Monday through Friday. For any questions, please contact Todd McCollough at tmccollo@bates.edu. We only accept debit/credit cards/gift cards, no cash. Gift cards can be purchased at the bookstore.

- Breakfast: 7:00am – 9:00am
  
  Lunch: 10:30am-11:30am
  
  Dinner: 4:30pm – 7:30pm