What’s the best place to eat in LSU’s Union? I timed each line to see which restaurant is fastest

Is waiting in the Student Union for lunch worth it? During rush hour, the lines can get pretty intense. 

This week I stood in lines at some of the busiest spots and recorded the time it took from when I first got in line to when I received my order.

Panda Express

My first stop was Panda Express. There were 14 people in line in front of me when I arrived at 11:27 a.m. on Monday, May 1. 

From the time I arrived until the time I paid; it took five minutes. This is an impressive time. Averaging at about 35 seconds per customer, the staff at Panda Express works at a rapid pace. 

I got a bowl with white rice and Beijing Beef. It was a bit spicy; however, it was an enjoyable meal. 

Overall, I would say Panda Express is worth the wait.

Smoothie King 

As soon as I finished retrieving my lunch from Panda Express, I decided to go ahead and see if Smoothie King could beat that wait time. 

I got in line at 11:34 a.m. and had nine people ahead of me. Five people still needed to order and four people were waiting on their smoothies.

The total time spent waiting was 11 minutes. The average time spent on customers ahead of me was one minute and 22 seconds. 

I ordered a small Angel Food smoothie and was overall satisfied with my purchase. 

The wait was a bit longer than my first stop, but it was not outrageous. 

Smoothie King, in my opinion, is worth the wait. 

Chick-fil-A

The next time I ventured out into the Student Union, I was ready to stand in the treacherously long line that is Chick-fil-A. 

The Chick-fil-A line was the one I dreaded the most. There seems to always be a steady line every time I go through the Union. 

I arrived at 11:47 a.m. on Tuesday, May 2. There were 25 people ahead of me, two waiting on food and the rest were either ordering or waiting to order. 

It took me 13 minutes to get my order. So, Chick-fil-A spent on average, 52 seconds per customer ahead of me. 

This was shocking. I expected it to be a longer wait per person due to the high volume of customers.

I had gotten a medium fry and they were still hot, which was even more of a surprise. 

If you have the patience, Chick-fil-A is worth the wait.

Sonic

My last stop was Sonic. I went to go get a mini hot fudge shake to celebrate making it through all of these lines. 

When I arrived, there were seven people ahead of me. Five of those people were in line and two were waiting on their orders. 

I arrived at 12:02 p.m. and expected this to be the shortest line I stood in. 

After about 10 minutes in line, though, I began to realize that this would be the longest line.

From the time I stepped into line until the time I left, 15 minutes had passed. 

This means that Sonic had the longest wait time on average per customer. It took approximately two minutes and 14 seconds for each customer to receive their order with only one register open. 

While the shake was delicious, it was not worth the wait. Being 46 seconds longer for each customer than the next highest may not seem like a big deal, but the more people in line the more that time adds up. 

By the time I left, the line had nearly doubled in size. If the pace did not pick up after I left, then someone may have been standing in line for half an hour. 

Some days may be faster or slower for each of these locations, so take this information with a grain of salt. If you are craving something and you aren’t in a rush, then it may be more worth the wait.