The Loker Commons student center in Memorial Hall opened its doors yesterday with little fanfare but much customer satisfaction.

The Memorial Hall renovations, completed this fall, turned the basement into the Loker Commons and the first floor into Annenberg Hall, the first-year dining hall scheduled to open in late January.

Although there were only a dozen or so people in the space late yesterday afternoon, Loker officials said business will increase as the word spreads.

"It was a slow day," said Director of Dining Services Michael P. Berry. "I hope to pick up volume as the week goes on. But we expected it to be slow."

Yesterday's opening was termed "soft" by officials; the grand opening will be Jan.4.

Students, administrators and employees alike yesterday afternoon lauded the spacious new common and dining area.

"I've got Loker fever," said Adam R. Kovacevich '99, who was studying for Wednesday's Ec 10 hourly exam in one of the many nooks lining the Commons' south wall. "I'm really impressed with the job they did down here."

Harvard has needed a student center like this for a long time, said Daniel B. Giffin '99.

"I had been waiting for something like this for a while," Giffin said. "It seemed like the thing that we lacked. It's bigger than I expected."

Walking in the door nearest the Science Center, one enters the main area of the Commons to encounter a sweet shop, a pizza place and a southwest cuisine vendor. Dozens of tables are clustered in the center of the room.

Beyond the large open space is the Seattle's Best Coffee shop, partitioned from the rest of the Commons by glass and wood paneling.

The coffee flavors have been specially named in honor of Harvard, with "Radcliffe Evening Blend," "John Harvard Blend" and "Harvard Yard Morning Blend" featured prominently in front of the service counter.

Dean of the College Archie C. Epps III, who came to Loker for a late lunch yesterday, said that he plans to stop by the commons every day.

"This is the beginning of a regular practice of mine," he said as he bit into a piece of pizza, which he deemed "very good." "This is a place where students can hang out."

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