The stand, which opened in August, is owned by Victoria J. Wallins, who leases the space from the Coop and nets all of the cafe's profits, she said. Purchases do not qualify for Coop rebates, and Coop charge or credit cards are not accepted, Wallins said.
Prices vary from 85 cents for an eight-ounce cup of coffee to $2.10 for Cappuccino. The Coffee Connection in the Garage offers identical prices, though those of Au Bon Pain, Express and Croissant du Jour are lower.
Wallins said her clientele is small but loyal, made up mainly of Coop employees and tourists.
Derek L. Horner '92 said The First Cup provides "good food, good coffee, good conversation" and that "the prices are competitive for [Harvard] Square." But the stand's location, said John F. Kirby '92, may be too remote for it to draw many customers.
But Allan E. Powell, the Coop's general manager, said the third floor location was intentional. "We wanted people to migrate to the third floor," he said. The Coop's sporting goods section is on the third floor near The First Cup.
Parking Lot Waste Reclassified
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has downgraded the classification of the hazardous waste on the St. Paul's Parish parking lot behind Quincy House to "non-priority", a spokesperson for the DEP said yesterday.
This summer, the DEP made the University responsible for removing the waste from the property, which Harvard plans to begin developing this year. The downgrading does not remove that responsibility.
"The hazardous waste at the St. Paul's Parish parking lot has been downgraded to a non-priority which means that there is no immediate threat to the health and welfare of the residents or the environment," said Johanna A. Prindville. "The property did not get a clean bill of health, but the owner does assume responsibility for any costs that might occur."
Father John MacInnis, a chaplain at the Harvard-Radcliffe Catholic Student Center, whose office is directly next to the parking lot, said that "the waste was a combination of fuel oil tanks left over from the houses that used to be on the property and lead from the lead paint on those same houses."
MacInnis added that the property had been previously under contract with the Davis Corporation to build luxury condominiums, but that Davis "got out" of the contract as a result of the hazardous waste.
Quincy House Master Michael Shinagel, said he was unconcerned about the hazardous waste. "It is simply oil that will be trucked away. It's not going to be a problem," he said. "We are more concerned with the noise and destruction of our private life that the new housing might cause."