The Rock Café

The Rock Café is a student cafeteria located on the south side of the campus of Ferris State University in Big Rapids, MI. Its official street address is 1420 Knollview Dr.

Fall 2006
This diner became one of two diners to feature in the paper "The Rock Café vs. Center Ice." It not only competed for student business with in-town food stores and with Center Ice, but also Westview Diner, Quizno's, and Mascar Grille.

Spring 2007
The Dozerfleet founder briefly worked here.

Summer 2007
Conflicts between the Dozerfleet founder and some unhinged cafeteria staff members engaging in a harassment campaign inspired the villain "Bumphrob" in Ciem.

Fall 2007
Late in the semester, word got out that Mascar was being shut down. The Rock anticipated picking up business from its fallen competitor diner.

Spring 2008
Those claiming Mascar would be shut down made good on their threats. By the end of spring 2008, Mascar was no more. However, most of the fallen diner's business went to Westview, due to location.

Spring 2009
Word hit that the diner would be closed in the summer for renovations. Midway through the semester, the shutdown commenced.

Fall 2009
The Rock became the main dining establishment for hall residents on campus. While Westview was to remain open for a bit longer, the summer of 2009 was the final semester before rival diner Center Ice was shut down. Many angry Center Ice fans were forced to relocate their meal activities to the Rock, as Westview made for considerable extra walking distance.

Significant renovations to the Rock made the entire establishment a lot nicer - but with some oversights. Students no longer checked the quality of milk, leading to expired milk being served on occasions. The Mongolian grill add-on was a much-loved new feature for students. The Market was added as a side convenience store and pizza shop.

Spring 2010
The Dozerfleet founder became much more particular about what to eat and what not to eat at this diner, as some of the food was revealed to be liver-toxic. Other students were similarly complaining of abdominal pain from some of the food offerings, and of developing conditions ranging from rapid weight gain and high blood pressure to NASH. No further history of this establishment is available on the Dozerfleet Database, as spring 2010 was the final semester of Dozerfleet on campus.

Trivia

 * Presumably, it was so-named because the oft-painted campus boulder was right outside.

Further viewing

 * The Rock Café on Google Maps