Only one store in the Square sells everything from white ceramic candle holders and ice scrapers to chocolate Pop Tarts and toilet bowl cleaner. That is, only one store does it all night long: Store 24.

The fluorescent-lit one-stop shopping center on Mass. Ave. is a haven for students pulling all nighters, returning from late-night dates, or suffering from an unexpected attack of the munchies.

"Store 24 makes it easy to pull all-nighters," said Ken Goldsmith '86-87, who has frequented the store for over three years.

Goldsmith, who dropped in at the late-night haven after returning from a date at 2:30 a.m., said that he planned to stock up before writing a paper due at noon the next day.

Nocturnal Chow

Cranberry juice, Reese's cups and mineral water are the choices of Jane L. Boyee '89, who makes a habit of going to Store 24 twice a night--once at 11:30 p.m. and again at 2 a.m.. "Going out in the cold wakes me up," said the Massachusetts Hall resident.

"I go for the mass quantity and low quality," said Jeffrey C. Yang '89, who came to Store 24 from his room in Grays while taking a break from "Late Night with David Letterman."

Yang was miffed that Store 24 is the only store in the Square open after 1 a.m., and said he usually settled for a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter.

Non-Comestible Needs

P.A. Weiner '88 faced a crisis when he ran out of typing paper while writing for his next day's tutorial. But a quick dash to the store solved his dilemma.

That was also the case with Susane Y. Eu '89. "I have to write it tonight," Eu said.

"I'm reading a poem similar to Old Man and the Sea," said Tom Malone '87 as he leafed through some of the Cliff's Notes which Store 24 has recently started to stock. "And now that I know these are here," he said of the student aids, "I'll frequent the store and browse through them."

"I put off my shopping until late at night, so I have to shop here," said Canaday resident Dave J. Thornton '89.

A sign stretching over three walls of the store reads, "We've got soda & juice & ice cream & frozen foods & eggs & butter & milk & cheese & yogurt & more..." But, while the sign gives the impression that the store stocks mostly foods with fewer than 50 ingredients, the extensive variety of its merchandise tells a different story.

In the refrigerated section, there are four shelves of two brands of yogurt, three for cheese, and one each for butter and eggs.