With the Arkansas vs. Rutgers game playing in the background, the restaurant slowly cleared out. Upon finishing up orders for a lunch rush, Dock Scott slid into a booth, pausing for a breath.

“It’s nice to sit down for a minute…business has been brisk for lunch and dinner,” Scott said. “And now we’re giving people another option besides Waffle House.”

While 24-hour dining options at WKU are being discussed, a nearby barbeque restaurant close to campus is extending its hours.

Grease Fire BBQ is now keeping its door open for 24 hours, six days of the week. Located near the Registry on Old Morgantown Road, owner Dock Scott feels the restaurant could be a welcomed option for late-night diners.

This is a change of pace for the restaurant, which just modified its hours this past Wednesday.

The restaurant recently received awards for its smoked chicken and ribs at the 23rd Annual Balloons, Tunes & BBQ Festival held earlier this month.

The restaurant also offers grilled cheeseburgers as well as butts and briskets “fresh off the smoker,” which sits in front of the restaurant. And following a tradition of many southern-style eateries, they offer catfish on Fridays.

Iranian freshman Seyed Mahyar Vaghefi, studying business management, lives at the Registry and frequents the restaurant. His favorite dish is barbecue chicken with fries.

He was happy to hear the restaurant extended its hours.

“It’s perfect,” Vaghefi said. “Late at night we can only go to McDonald’s, usually.”

Grease Fire will offer handmade breakfast items such as sausage gravy and biscuits and french toast between midnight and 6 a.m.

While the street is not typically bustling with students at night, Scott is hoping the reaction to the change of hours will be a positive one.

“We would like to see more students from Western coming by,” Scott said.

Zach Hatfield works front and back of house at the restaurant, helping customers at the register. Working alongside Scott, he has extra visions even beyond success of the restaurant.

He glanced over to his drum set in the corner.

“We’re looking to see if anyone wants to jam here with me,” he said. “Then we could have live music sometimes.”