Charlotte Balla | Staff Photographer

The South 40 welcomed Bear Bodega, a new convenience store for students, on April 6. The store utilizes Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, allowing shoppers an easy, transactionless experience.

Bear Bodega is located next to Ursa’s Nite Life and below the first-year Lien House. It is open until 5 p.m. daily for the general public, after which a WashU ID is required for entry. The store is the first on the WashU campus to be open 24/7. 

Students use a QR code accessed through Grubhub to scan in and begin their shopping experience. Since it is linked through Grubhub, students can use meal points to buy items. The store also accepts other payment methods, including Visa cards. 

Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology utilizes cameras and motion sensors to detect what items shoppers take and then automatically charges whatever method of payment they choose. The implementation of this advanced technology is a major step toward WashU Dining Service’s goal of maximizing efficiency and consumer convenience.

Many students have entered the store and made purchases, especially after midnight when Paws & Go is closed. 

“I go to Bear Bodega if I want to get a snack late at night, if I don’t want to walk all the way down to Paws, or if Paws isn’t open. So I think it’s a great idea,” first-year student Ellie Solomon said. 

Installing Bear Bodega was a collaborative project involving student groups, WashU Dining Services, and third parties, like Grubhub and Amazon. Tiffany De La Roche, Director for Dining Services, commented on the extent of this project. 

“We had partners from Amazon involved because of their technology … partners [from] Grubhub because of the integration and the access piece, [partners from] several departments on campus, from Project Management to Student Affairs. So lots of moving parts, and lots of people involved.”

Greg Minner, the executive director for University Services, said that the 24/7 hours were a response to students wanting more convenient and accessible options for finding food. “We heard that students wanted something [open] later in the night. So I think that was one of the bigger things about [establishing] it,” he said. 

Currently, Bear Bodega sells many typical convenience store products: protein bars, chips, candy, refrigerated drinks, and more. Its inventory is similar to that of Paws & Go, located in the Bear’s Den, where students have historically shopped to purchase similar items. 

Solomon observes that Bear Bodega is slower on restocking and has fewer snack options. 

“I just wish that they took a little feedback as to what students want to see in here, snack-wise, because every time I come here looking for something, they don’t have it,” Solomon said. She wishes Bear Bodega had a greater variety of snacks in general. 

The availability of products has been the determining factor for students of whether to go to Bear Bodega or Paws & Go. 

“I do tend to go to Paws & Go when they don’t have what I am looking for here. They do have a larger drink selection than we do up here [in Bear Bodega],” Solomon said. 

There are plans to change the inventory and purpose of Paws & Go in the future, De La Roche said.

“We’re working on some plans this summer to really kind of look at Paws & Go through a different lens and really kind of create its own identity outside of the Bear Bodega,” De La Roche said. 

“Since it opened midsemester, there are similar things [in the two stores], but our goal is to get all the quick, convenient things up to Bear Bodega,” Pat Holmes, Sodexo resident district manager , added. Paws & Go, the group mentioned, will likely shift towards primarily prepared foods and local goods.

Some concerns about loss of jobs and sustained worker alienation have arisen due to Bear Bodega’s AI-backed technology. Although WashU Dining Services has plans to maximize efficiency and increase digitization to aid the consumer experience, they note that this change in technology won’t come at the expense of the employees.

“Really what happens is technology creates more work, because there’s a lot of checks and balances that have to happen when you’re putting a lot of faith and trust in technology, and because of that, there’s a lot of back end work to make sure that that technology is operating as it should be,” De La Roche said.

“Everything is always going to need people to execute,” Director of Strategic Initiatives & Communications Raven Lumpkins added.

WashU Dining Services is excited for the future of Bear Bodega and is receptive to student feedback. Lumpkins urges students to notify Dining Services of any requests or comments about Bear Bodega while they are still in the early implementation stage.

“We really do want it to be responsive. So while we’re planning over the summer, if people want to submit things to us, please email [Dining Services], and we’ll be considering everything.”