Nothing good happens after midnight…except for some good food to cap off a long night of drinking. Drunk food has become an essential part of nightlife, with restaurants now being open until two or three in the morning. A specific demographic is needed for these restaurants to thrive, and Iowa City has created a hub of successful places with late-night bites. 

Most of the dizzy drunks in the city know their night will end at Pancheros, Mesa Pizza, Marco’s Grilled Cheese, or one of the newer additions to the scene, George’s Best Gyros. The gyro restaurant was created for this exact reason, only being open Wednesday through Saturday for dinner hours. They stay open until 2:30am each night with the expectancy of drunk students stumbling in. Their business plan thrives off of drunk students who can’t help but listen to their bodies beg them to put something in their stomachs besides vodka. 

An overload of alcohol in comparison to food inside the body is not the only encouragement for a drinker looking to munch. Alcohol affects our nervous system, and according to ZBiotics, “Alcohol may also stimulate nerve cells in the brain’s hypothalamus that increase appetite. These neurons are activated by starvation, cause an extreme hunger sensation, and can be stimulated by consuming alcohol leading to those sometimes uncontrollable cravings” (Ryan, Alcohol and Food Cravings). Not only does this affect self-control, but alcohol also makes the hypothalamus more responsive to smells, increasing our appetites even further. This may be the reason that some foods taste great under the influence, but not as much the morning after. Businesses like Marco’s and George’s know this, catering their hours to obvious customers habits. 

I won’t fail to mention the general lack of control over our impulses when drinking, which results in an ugly side to a drunk snack. The lack of care or control of our actions when we drink can result in binge eating. While our brains convince us we’re starving, the idea of portion control quickly becomes irrelevant. It goes back to the nervous system, which is made up of neurons. Although alcohol is known to be a downer, a study from the National Library of Medicine shows no association with the body needing energy or calories because of it. According to HuffPost, “these neurons, altered by the booze, may fire at times they otherwise wouldn’t, telling your brain over and over again that it needs food” (Van Hare, The Real Reason You Can't Stop Eating When You're Drunk (and What You Can Do About It)). 

So there’s a logical explanation for your post-bar cravings. I’m not trying to validate it, or say you should indulge, but I believe its somehow comforting to know there’s a scientific reason. Don’t get too comfortable though, there are many misconceptions when it comes to eating after a night out. The biggest one being that greasy food soaks up alcohol…surprise! It doesn’t. ZBiotics states, “the harsh reality is it can actually make you feel worse the morning after, as your body is working twice as hard to break down alcohol and high amounts of sodium and fat. But people often use this myth to justify indulging in those alcohol-driven food cravings” (Ryan, Alcohol and Food Cravings).  

This post-bar mob of munchers has given business owners an entirely new target market. In Iowa City, the bars at every corner have been accompanied by a late-night bite spot. There are restaurants in this city that rely on this crowd to stay open for business. There are plenty of places that stay open until midnight, but only a select few stay open past bar close, which is around 1:45-2am. 

Pancheros, located in the heart of downtown Iowa City, has been well-known for their late hours to satisfy the city’s drunk hunger. Pahola has been working at Pancheros for almost a year now. Before this, she worked at a different restaurant in Des Moines. She met more than one person there (who she said were in their 40s) who told her that it has always been the spot at night, as the door doesn’t shut until 3am. 

The business wouldn’t be the same without these consistent weekend customers. “Out of all the Pancheros, based on month to month, [it has] the highest sales. But, if you take into consideration the whole year, it is dead here summer when everyone leaves, and winter break when everyone goes back home. We’re the busiest Pancheros in Iowa,” Pahola informs me. 

With the restaurant being located on the corner of S Clinton St. and E Washington St., the drunken students can’t help themselves but to join the others in what looks to be a never-ending line — for a quesadilla. But not just a quesadilla, as their brains have already convinced them it’s going to be the best quesadilla they’ve ever eaten. 

“Anyone could really make money if they put up a good restaurant around here, because if you look at how many people here commute on foot, they don’t go too far. So whatever’s close is where they’re always at,” Pahola explains. 

Marco’s Grilled Cheese is another notable late-night spot, staying open until 2:30am. It’s located on N Linn St., about a five-minute walk from downtown, and gets just as much late-night action as Pancheros. The drunk students have spent a bit more time in the crisp air before walking into the establishment, differing from Pancheros downtown, as one example. 

The differences between speaking with Pahola and Marco’s worker Jessica was shocking. I knew there would be a slight contrast between the two, but the vomit and violence I assumed would be prevalent didn’t even come up in conversation with Jessica. She sat there, for at least thirty seconds, trying to think of a negative side to serving nightlife, as Pahola did the same in attempting to brainstorm positives.  

“I’ve called the cops three times here. We usually try to call before it breaks into a fight just because we don’t want to deal with it,” Pahola says, “we’re trying to get home as soon as possible, and don’t want to be dealing with little arguments like that. The cops are right across the street.” 

Pahola also elaborates on the cleanup of vomit in the lobby and bathrooms nearly every weekend, emphasizing the negatives of working a 10pm-3am shift. 

After asking Marco’s worker Jessica if there are any negatives that come with the drunk crowd’s rowdiness, she states, “I mean it can of course, you know, sometimes, but for the most part, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Like I said, most of the time, they’re usually pretty fun.” 

Jessica did point out the cardboard-patched window, explaining the window was punched from the outside on a late night. “Things like that can happen but it’s pretty rare,” Jessica says. Marco’s has been less worried about violence, with their drunk customers having the temptation to steal things they don’t need. The restaurant’s napkin holders were taken one too many times, forcing them to remove them from dine-in tables completely. 

When Jessica first began working at Marco’s four years ago, they were open from 11am-11pm. Now, they open at 5pm Monday-Thursday, with Friday through Sunday offering daytime service. Jessica says the need to adjust business hours became apparent quickly after she started working. “That’s the niche,” she says, “this is the kind of food they want late at night.” 

Both Marco’s Grilled Cheese and Pancheros have a large menu with many enticing options that attract their target audience. Marco’s offers everything: grilled cheese, quesadillas, burgers, chicken sandwiches, pretzel bites, French fries, tater tots, and so much more. Pancheros has the same structure as a Chipotle restaurant would, with the ability to create your own Mexican style bowl, tacos, quesadillas, burritos, with the addition of chips, guacamole or queso. 

Why are these foods so alluring to drunk people? For starters, most drinkers are not pairing their mixed drink with an iced water, enhancing dehydration. This dehydration can lead to unhealthy food choices, like chips or pizza. Surveys from more than one university have shown the pattern of drinkers preferring unhealthy foods, but not much can answer the question of why? 

One survey through The University at Buffalo reveals this pattern and Jessica Kruger, a clinical assistant professor of community health and health behavior at the university, gives some insight into why this may be. 

“‘It is believed that after drinking alcohol, the amount of blood glucose in the body can rise and fall which stimulates the brain to feel hungry,’ Kruger explains” (Hill Got the 'Drunchies'?). 

I’m still left with the question: why these foods? Maybe there isn’t much science behind it, or maybe it’s as simple as letting the liquid courage get the best of you.  

There are plenty of tips and tricks that are suggested to avoid indulging in your drunk cravings. If anyone was even attempting to resist, Pancheros and Marco’s wouldn’t be so reliant on the weekend’s overflow of business. I’d like to leave you with two realistic words of advice, be nice to the people behind the late-night counters, and break the news to your friends that greasy foods soaking up alcohol is a total myth.