Bwog received multiple reports about the closure of JJ’s Place, the Columbia dining hall directly below John Jay Hall, so we delved into these reports to try and gain clarity on this event.

A tip was first delivered to Bwog on the evening of March 23, 2021, declaring that JJ’s was closed and imploring us to report on this “tragedy.”

After reaching out to Columbia’s administration, a University spokesperson told Bwog on March 25, 2021, that “after a staff employee of JJ’s Place tested positive for COVID-19, the University’s health protocols required contact tracing and precautionary quarantine of several other staff working at the dining hall. This resulted in the temporary closure of the dining hall. No students were exposed. We expect JJ’s Place to reopen next week.”

Social media posts within the Columbia community indicated that the closure of JJ’s was connected to the current graduate student workers strike, but Bwog has confirmed that this purported connection was an unserious joke. 

Hopefully, JJ’s Place will be fully operational this coming week, so we can all enjoy mozzarella sticks and burgers sometime soon.

Update March 29, 2021, 8:10 pm:
JJ’s is scheduled to reopen on Tuesday, March 30 at 4 pm, as stated on the Columbia Dining website.

JJ’s via Columbia Dining