When September ends, students in the Quad will be able to sip on freshly brewed coffee and nibble on fudge walnut brownies at the new student-run coffee house in the vicinity of their Houses.
Cabot Café, located in Cabot E-007 in the basement of Cabot E entryway, will officially open in late September. In addition to offering coffee, tea, espresso drinks, and baked goods late at night, the café aims to serve as a social space for students to hang out and as a venue for artists to perform.
Cabot Café was the brainchild of Cabot residents Laura S. Hinton '13, Jesse J. Kaplan '13, Chandan G. Lodha '13, and Crimson photo editor Daniel M. Lynch '13. After realizing the need for a social space, these four friends proposed the idea of a coffee house to their House Masters and tested it during the spring preview.
Roisin L. Duffy-Gideon '12, who attended the café's four-day preview period last May, said she was amazed by the transformation of the space, which was formally known as "the Television Room."
"[Cabot Café] feels like a regular coffee house, except you are surrounded by all your friends," Duffy-Gideon said, adding that the pastries and coffee at Cabot Café are much more delicious than the food served during Brain Break in the dining halls.
Kaplan, who now serves as the general manager of Cabot Café, said the café is unique in that it also provides a space for student musicians to perform and photographers and artists to display their artwork.
"We intend to have students play their guitar or piano, sing, perform spoken word or slam poetry, and put up their artworks," Kaplan said.
Spatially, Hinton said Cabot Café caters to the students in the Quad, providing a smaller and more personal place to hang out.
"Lamont Café is not convenient for people in the Quad," she said.
Though the café hours are still tentative, Kaplan said it will probably be open from 8 p.m. to midnight, Sunday through Thursday. Cabot Café accepts cash, BoardPlus, and Crimson Cash.
Cabot Café is currently hiring between 10 and 15 baristas, who will get paid $10 an hour to prepare drinks and serve food to the customers, as well as help to coordinate student performances.
For more information, visit its website at http://cabotcafe.com or email info@cabotcafe.com.