Gate-area vending is basically your only 24/7 option
The Vending Machines in the Main Terminal at CID sit near the gate seating areas and stay available 24 hours a day, even when the café and bar shut down for the night. You’ll see standard drink machines with bottled water, soda, and sports drinks, plus snack machines with chips, candy bars, and packaged pastries. Prices run a bit higher than in-town—expect around $2–$3 for drinks and $1.50–$3 for snacks—but still reasonable for an airport of this size.
These machines sit post-security in the Main Terminal concourse, so you don’t have to leave the gate area to grab something. Selection skews classic: Coke/Pepsi products, basic chips, M&M’s, and granola bars rather than fresh items. If you land on one of the late CRJ arrivals after 10:00 p.m., this is often the only food left operating. Machines take cards plus contactless payments, so you don’t need cash.
There are no real complaints documented about the Vending Machines at CID, mostly because there aren’t many reviews at all. That said, stock can run thin on early Monday mornings and after weather delays, especially bottled water and plain potato chips. If you see what you like before a bank of flights boards around 6:00–7:00 a.m., grab it then.
Practical tip: buy a larger bottled drink from the machines in the Main Terminal, then refill it at the water fountain by the gates so you don’t pay twice on a short layover.