When the average college diet consists of meal swipes and takeout, nothing beats a home-cooked meal. Not the Anteatery, a student-run business out of Vista del Campo, brings comfort food to campus with homemade meals prepared to order every Wednesday night.
Second-year biological sciences student Khindle Morris and third-year psychological sciences student Zain Malik launched Not the Anteatery at the start of the winter 2025 quarter to share their cooking with other students while earning extra income.
“We honestly just cook a lot at home and we love cooking together,” Morris told New University. “So we’re like might as well just sell it.”
The name Not the Anteatery references the Anteatery, the dining hall near Mesa Court housing. When asked about the name, Morris said it reflects the longing and nostalgia for homemade meals while on a campus meal plan.
“We came up with ‘Not the Anteatery’ because sometimes you’re just not in the mood for dining hall food, sometimes you really just want a home-cooked meal,” Morris said.
Morris and Malik met at the beginning of the fall 2024 quarter during the Vista del Campo move-in. After hitting it off as roommates, the idea was born to offer home-cooked meals to other students on campus.
“We do polls [on Instagram] where we get the customers an opportunity to vote for what they want to see each week and then whatever poll or picture has the most votes, then we end up cooking it that week,” Morris said. “Usually it’s an entree. We’ll probably have a side, like some vegetables, and a dessert every time.”
Not the Anteatery has offered meals such as “marry me” chicken with mashed potatoes, stir-fried broccoli with a s’mores cookie, and birria tacos with Spanish rice and churro cake. More recently, they made salmon and steak-loaded baked potatoes with cheesy broccoli and honey bun cake.
Since launching early this quarter, Morris and Malik have had to adapt to accommodate the growing demand for their homemade meals.
“At first we aimed to serve 10 students, but at this moment it’s about 20-30,” Morris said.
Their business grew primarily through social media marketing. The Instagram account @nottheanteatery gained 209 followers in five weeks, featuring a feed that depicts each week’s meal and description. The business accepts all its orders through direct messages, relying on customer comments and story posts to spread the word.
“I think social media is one of the most important parts in the business because that’s how we got all our followers. We started on the Snapchat story trying to get people to come over to our Instagram cause that’s mainly where we take orders and everything, but now that we have a little good following [on] our Instagram, we kind of stop on Snapchat,” Malik said.
When asked about the student response, Malik credited customers for their support and encouraging feedback throughout the process of starting Not the Anteatery.
“It’s been 100% positive. We have not had any negative, I feel like that’s the great thing about it — people are always so nice and they always come back,” Malik said. “We have regulars come back every week and they’re always so sweet and they’re always supportive, and that’s the thing that keeps us going, to be honest.”
Students have also taken to social media to share reviews and express their appreciation for the up-and-coming business.
On Instagram, user @aminampasha posted to their story and wrote, “Highlight of my UCI experience @nottheanteatery,” with a picture of hot honey chicken tenders with mac and cheese and a red velvet brownie.
Students have also left comments on the business’ instagram page like user @s1mrank4ur who wrote, “My glorious chefs, thank you so much for making sure I have substance I love you.”
What began as an idea to bring a taste of home to campus grew beyond the duo’s expectations. The overwhelming success of the business prompted Morris and Malik to consider expansion as the next step for their brand.
“We were shocked by how fast it was able to pick up,” Malik said. “We need a bigger kitchen because the amounts that are coming through now, the kitchen it’s just not big enough, but maybe when we move out next year we will all look for an apartment that has a nice kitchen.”
Melissa Mixon is a Features Intern for the winter 2025 quarter. She can be reached at mixonm@uci.edu.