Coffee House

A view outside the CoHo. Coho sign from the MU's north entrance.

The ASUCD Coffee House, or CoHo for short, is the largest student-run "restaurant" in the United States. They do some ridiculous amount of transactions (around 7,000 customers) per day. The coffee, supplied by Beantrees roasting company, is delicious, organic, fair trade and shade-grown, and can be found at the Bakery coffee station. The Deli coffee station now features Pachamama co-op grown coffee. The Coffee House is home to a few microwaves you can use to heat up your food. As the name would imply, the ASUCD Coffee House is run by ASUCD rather than Sodexho. Being run by ASUCD, it is technically a non-profit restaurant, so at the end of the year any extra money goes back into the ASUCD coffers to fund other student services. You cannot pay with your Reg Card at the CoHo.

Stations

The Coffee House offers (working from West to East) bagels at the MU Bagel Place, coffee, deli sandwiches, a salad bar, baked potatoes, and pho. The Coffee House is a part of the larger Memorial Union structure.

Around the corner, you will find the CoHo Bakery which offers coffee, tea, hot chocolate, ice cream and frozen yogurt by the ounce, and of course, baked goods. Here you can buy the Coffee House Campus Mug.

Continuing North, we find the Coffee House Too, which is the worst name ever so people either call it "The Grill" or just that-part-of-the-coffee-house-that-sells-burritos-and-stuff. That-part-of-the-coffee-house-that-sells-burritos-and-stuff sells burritos, quesadillas, tacos, nachos, pizza, egg rolls, bread sticks, breakfast burritos (if you get there early), as well as various items served from bins at the hot food line such as chili, casserole, soup, quiche, salads, and pasta. The Hot Food Line Menu is updated daily before 10:30am.

General grill area. Tex-Mex Area.

Local food and bakeries provide a large number of products in addition to the fare prepared in house. The Student Farm, Village Bakery, Variety Donuts (Mmmm... donuts!), and nearby Woodland's El Sombrero all kick in tasty items. Crossing the river, Sacramento sends items from Main Street Bagels, Sacramento Tofu Company, Beantrees, and a bit of the juice of the moo from Crystal Cream and Butter.

Further afield, from Vacaville comes Pure Grain Bakery, Richvale's Lundberg Farms, Portello Ranch of Arbuckle, and Marysville's own Rue and Forsman Ranch all provide regional items and ingredients.

History

The Coffee House serves not only as a central location for students to meet (it's hard to hang out in the CoHo and NOT see someone you know), but also a venue for the ASUCD Entertainment Council. While CoHo shows aren't what they used to be (Between 1977 to 1981: Iggy Pop, The Ramones, Devo, The Police, Dire Straits, EmmyLou Harris, Talking Heads (played twice), and Elvis Costello on 02/08/78), Entertainment Council still manages to land a good number of bands such as Nada Surf.

In addition, Davis Music Scene hosts weekly shows featuring local and touring bands at the Coffee House regularly.

The Coffee House closed its doors for one whole day in the Spring of 2002. This radical display was a move to strike against the ASUCD Senate's decision to enlist a full time chef, which would have taken the power from students as well as the belief that the very popular kitchen manager Darin Schluep would be fired. It is estimated that thousands of dollars were lost in that one day of closure. The following day then ASUCD President Chia-Saun Lai and the Coffee House reached an agreement. Out went the full time chef idea and the CoHo opened its doors again.

There are no current moves by the Coffee House to use "Aggie Cash" even thought it has been promised by many ASUCD Senators and Presidents for something like 4 years.

On October 11, 2006, around 9pm two individuals stole the CoHo piano by rolling it out the doors. The two men were caught on film as well as seen by one CoHo employee. On the morning of October 12th two of the staff managers recognized the individuals as the the poster sellers on the MU Patio. The police were called and the eye-witness identified them. When the police arrived one of the alleged thieves fled on foot and was subsequently chased by one of the CoHo staff managers. Both suspects were caught and arrested for allegedly stealing the piano. The posters and merchandise were held on the fifth floor of the Memorial Union for over five months until the east coast-based company retrieved them.

CoHo Live occurs every Monday in the Coffee House II from 5-7 pm.

Non-Student Staff

• Sharon Coulson is the director of the Coffee House, and has been since 1983.
  

• Darin Schluep manages the kitchen and the hiring and firing of employees.
  

• Ed Andrade manages the outfront employees and ensures quality of food and customer service

Reserving Coffee House Space

Students may reserve the dining areas. Even during the day sections can be reserved for events, for example ASUCD has their candidate forums during lunch. In the evenings, the entire space is available for reservation. The rooms are not under the control of SPAC, but of Coffee House management. Speak to staff Coffee House Managers Darin or Ed to reserve space. Students can also request to put flyers in the plastic holders on each table and request to put posters up on empty wall space.

CoHo Employee Culture

There are two types of employees that work at the CoHo, Kitchen and Out Front. The kitchen employees work in the Hot Kitchen, Cold Kitchen, Bakery and Hot food line. The Out Front employees are cashiers (who also make the espresso) or work at the counters making burritos, bagels, sandwiches, coffee, and pho. Kitchen supervisors and managers wear blue aprons, Out Front supervisors and managers wear red aprons and all non-supervisor/manager employees wear white aprons.

Coffee House employees are known for having some of the best parties and social events in town such as Holy Land, CoHo Formal, Talent Show, Keg Race and Sloshball games. The CoHo has a perfect sloshball record against other entities on campus; the CoHo has defeated both KDVS and Unitrans. When not playing other entities on campus the CoHo plays itself: Kitchen versus Out Front. During the Summer of 2007 the CoHo beat ARC employees at a keg race. They brutally defeated the Ski or Snowboard club at keg racing in Fall of 2007. They are professionals at the top of their game. Their next match is a sloshball game versus Unitrans employees. They are slated to destroy. One of the reasons CoHo employees are so good at dominating in any form of drinking (especially compared to Unitrans) is that they can work while drunk. Therefore their few seconds of sobriety consists of the time between waking up after a 10-hour drinking binge and sipping on the beer used to rinse their mouths out when brushing their teeth in the morning. "We work hard, we play harder," cheers Out-Front supervisor Elyse Greenblatt. They truly are professionals in eatery service and drinking.

Unusual Items

Inside the ASUCD Coffee Shop are some unusual wall decorations to look at.

Renovation

Renovation work on the ASUCD Coffee House will begin on August 17th, 2009, and continue until Fall 2010. Temporary, reduced service will be provided in the MU East Wing, where the Post Office and Aggie Student Store were previously located. See Coffee House Renovation Update Page for more detailed details.

Sadness: The Coffee House closes for renovation

Media

• Summer 2007 Summer of Love Lives On UC Davis Magazine

Comments:

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2005-11-15 23:52:04   They should sell their breakfast burritos and veggie breakfast burritos 24/7. They are really yummy, well priced, and offer a healthy alternative to the greasy pizza. If you're worried about production times, consider hiring someone to come in each morning and mass produce the burritos which can be heated and sold throughout the day with little effort. This is what my old coffee shop did. Worked well. —MichaelGiardina

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2005-11-16 16:32:57   I can't believe how much I actually miss eating at the CoHo—even though I'm in LA with hundreds of restaurants around. Something about the atmosphere really grew on me! —ReginaSikora

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2005-11-16 16:38:42   The last two times I have had a peice of cake form the COHO bakery it has had no taste and seemed undercooked. Anyone know what is going on? I really like the Funfetti cake but now I am afraid to try again... —MyaBrn

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2005-12-12 06:49:50   Can someone in the know please post the hours? Or have I missed the page where the hours are? —NiareeHopelian

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2005-12-12 14:12:57   Heard about the CoHo being renovated...Anypne know when/what is going to be done? —MyaBrn

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2006-01-04 00:42:23   As far as hours, I remember that on weekdays, the Bakery opens at 7 AM, and Hot Food Line opens at 10:30 AM. —MattNagel

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2006-01-15 10:07:45   The lox for their bagels is $2.50. That seems expensive, but how does it compare to other bagel joints? —JohnNapier

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2006-02-28 11:01:32   In response to Mya Brn, the renovation is supposedly supposed to be happening...something like fall 2007? I just started working there and I think thats what my trainer said during orientation. And usually a lox bagel sandwich costs about 5 or 6 dollars at local bagel places. —NatalieKitchiner

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2006-02-28 12:29:00   The plans for renovation have not been finalized but, the tentative date is summer '07. I'm a sup at the CoHo and also here stuff form the reps of SCORE, the group working out the renovation plans. —JamesSchwab

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2006-03-19 20:12:03   When is the new edition of the Coffee House cookbook coming out? I can't wait any longer!!!! —PattyLouieJunior

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2006-05-03 22:58:56   There's a CoHo Cookbook?! I recommend the Farfalle Westphalia (does anyone know how it's pronounced). It's THE best hot food item in the BIG Coho. I also like the Deli...pretty worth it :) —DianaLyn

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2006-05-03 23:00:24   At the bakery, ask for the BIGGEST piece of cake/brownie/whatever is cut up into pieces. That way, you actually get your money's worth, you know? They look at you funny, but comply :) As for the funfetti cake, buy a box at Safeway/Albertsons for $1 and make it at home!!! —DianaLyn

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2006-05-04 09:57:29   The coffee house is one of the few places I've been able to find Blue Bunny ice cream. Blue Bunny makes a flavor called "Birthday Party", which is kind of like funfetti cake in ice cream form, which I believe was to be included in St. Gregory's original list of deadly sins but was somehow left out. —LeightonHinkley

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2006-05-08 10:45:15   everytime i get food at the coho, the cashiers are really...rude. they'll tell me how much it costs (or just stick their hand out and not say a thing) and then continue their conversation with the cashier standing next to him/her. ugh. —EmilyTung

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2006-08-11 11:47:33   this is really the only place in davis where you can find super cheap healthy fast food. their chinese chicken salad is very good. the place is overall very vegitarian friendly offering tofu dishes, salads, no meat pastas, and vegetarian burritos/quesadillias —MattHh

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2006-08-11 12:01:59   Over the next couple weeks a new vegan salad has been introduced; Quinoa black bean salad. It has quinoa which is a small andean grain, similar in texture to cous cous. It has has black beans, corn, cilantro, bell peppers, lime, cumin and olive oil. Quinoa is high in protein, so it can be a very filling meal. —JamesSchwab

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2006-08-22 11:33:18   The Coffee House years ago used to be over in East Hall (where Dutton Hall is now). It was a great house and purely a "coffee house" and a place to relax - nothing like the clean, cafeteria feeling of the current Coffee House. What I remember best is the unending coffee refills and huge freshly-made cookies. When it moved over to the memorial union it kept its name, but just wasn't the same. The Coffee House continues to change and morph into something different for each generation of students, but the name is still the same. Interesting. —SharlaDaly

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2006-10-15 09:42:27   Has anybody else noticed the aannoying lack of quality control? I've had uncooked scones, stinky yogurt, burnt cookies and unmixed muffins. I appreciate the CoHo's low prices most of the time, but biting into an uncooked scone is just gross. And the fruit parfait are delicious 40% of the time but old, soggy and nasty the other 60% of the time. —AmyGoogenspa

• The parfaits should be dated to check for freshness, if not don't eat them.
  

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2006-10-27 15:51:29   I absolutely LOVE the CoHo Bakery lemon bars! So good! —LizCerv

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2006-10-30 11:44:13   I like the food, but some of the cashiers seem overly indifferent to their jobs. After I ordered a breakfast bagel without eggs, the cashier both overcharged me (despite the menu being right there) and shortchanged me. Protests only fixed the latter problem. —DanAlcantara

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I'm actually very impressed by the friendliness of the cashiers. They always manage to say "Have a nice day" at the end of the transaction. The prices are good, but the food from the pasta area is always either 1) very bland, or 2) somehow simultaneoulsy bland and very spicey (as in heat). How this happens, I don't know. Just don't expect a lot of flavor from those dishes. I haven't tried the burrito area yet, but the pizza and corndogs are good.—YupYup

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2007-10-24 22:46:04   For being essentailly just an oncampus cafeteria, I think everything is really overpriced. —DonaldJaye

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2007-10-25 04:28:56   are you mad? i always thought the food at the CoHo was dirt cheap comparatively, even with the recent price increase. —KellyCorcoran

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2007-10-25 12:41:16   No I'm not. maybe I'm just poor?

Guadalajara sells their burritos for just $1 more and they taste alot better (not to mention they don't come rolled up in a ball with all the filling dripping out). COHO sandwiches are almost $5. I rather have a meal at In-N-Out for $5. Don't get me wrong, theres nothing wrong with the food. there are just better values. and for being a cafeteria, I think it should be alot cheaper. —DonaldJaye

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2007-10-25 12:56:39   For what the CoHo offers, the prices are probably the cheapest in town. Ya the burrito makers suck most of the time, but the CoHo offers more than burritos. The idea of the coho is to offer healthy, homemade food that you can't get elsewhere on or near campus. The sandwich is $5 because it uses local bakeries, butchers, cheese makers, and slices the meat and cheese everday. Its not suppose to be fast food, its suppose to be a healthy alternative. Most coho food is made from scratch using organic and local ingredients. If you want cheap, unhealthy fast food, the CoHo is not your place. —JamesSchwab

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2007-10-25 20:00:50   its all about the pho with the curry —AlexJohnson

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2007-10-25 20:52:17   It's very special to have a place on campus that sells healthy food at a reasonable price, and to have the money going to student employees and organizations. I've been on quite few campuses, and choices are usually go off campus, or stay on campus for fast food or cafeterias run by places like Sodexho. Enjoy it while you got it. —JimEvans

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2007-10-26 12:39:37   Second time in a row those burrito makers put pico de gallo in my food. :( What's the point of asking if I want it? —DanielSong

• So they're saying "mild or spicy" and you're saying "none", and you pico de gallo? I'm just wondering if you're saying "mild" thinking that means no salsa when really it means mild salsa. —JimEvans
  

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2007-11-15 19:50:42   So these prices are off....espresso drinks have gone up. Also....you have to watch to make sure when you ask for Soy you GET SOY in your coffee! —melissagail

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2007-11-17 20:39:42   I updated the prices. Not sure about this soy business. —rubythursday

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2007-12-02 12:08:33   Since no one else has metioned it, ask for your breakfast bagel to be rung up as a plain bagel with add-ons of sausage, egg, and cheese. It comes out cheaper. This is also true for just egg and cheese bagels. I always liked to call it the discount for people who can do math.

One cashier tried to tell me that add-ons meant the stuff would come on the side, not on the bagel, (thus I could not get the cheaper price), but the people actually making the bagels hadn't heard of that. —KateBaker

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2007-12-12 01:05:27   I live for the pho curry soup. With all the toppings and chicken. I squeeze in the lime when I'm about 2/3 done with the soup, it adds another whole dimension. It's really one of the more remarkable foods I've eaten—in the winter when I feel a cold coming on, a bowl of Coho curry soup resets my immune system. Walking up to the curry soup line makes me salivate, watching them pour the curry and toss in the herbs makes me salivate even more. I love el dente herbs (cilantro, thai basil, green onions).

If you like curry, soup, Thai food, Vietnamese food, try the curry soup. It's really a genre unto itself. I've never seen anything else like it.

I also really like tacos (black bean or chicken) and the meat chili. The Coho is really one of the things that gives me a high level of satisfaction with my life as a UCD student. —TedBuehler

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2007-12-15 11:56:56   I'm going to have to second the comment above. The curry is so good at the Coho. I get it with tofu and put in Sriracha and Hoisin sauce with all the toppings. It's delicious and extremely filling because the bowls are so large. I'd also recommend the Taco Salad in the CoHo area, or the Chicken or Steak sandwiches. The coffee is always good too. Ed, the head manager of the coho, is great and really helpful. The blueprint for the renovation is out, if someone could find it and post it that'd be nice. I saw it yesterday and it looks amazing.

Get the curry! —davistudent

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2008-01-30 21:09:03   sadly, all that i've tried at the MU have been disappointing. i've had the vegetarian breakfast burrito (overcooked eggs, greasy tater tots, and plasticky cheese); the blue bunny ice cream in chocolate chip (probably the worst ice cream i've ever had. the flavor was completely off. it tasted neither like chocolate nor vanilla and had a grainy texture); blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese (bagel was not too flavorful and didn't have the chewiness i expected; cream cheese didn't have a pronounced strawberry flavor); and a roast beef sandwich on a whole wheat roll (very very salty and chewy roast beef). —QS

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2008-01-30 22:03:39   As to QS's comments, they do not make they do not make their own bagels or ice cream (the jalapeno cheddar bagel is the best, only offered some weeks, but its pretty spicy). I agree that the breakfast buritto has gone down hill, ever since they switched the seasoned patatoes for hashbrowns. —MattHh

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2008-04-02 21:01:08   I tried the Pho today for the first time, with curry. I was actually surprised to see a combo of Thai curry with Viet noodles. I was expecting authentic Thai green curry but I was really disappointed with the level of spicyness. It tasted closer to water to me with no "excitement" at all. But I understand how the majority of people wouldn't be able to handle what actual green curry is suppose to taste like. —Aarolye

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2008-04-09 10:04:06   I have to disagree with people who think the Coho employees are rude. Working in the food business sucks, especially during rush hours, but they almost always smile and say "Have a nice day." —Kiran

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2008-05-30 14:08:14   Today, the Pho chicken broth was... ugh! Unusually oily and flavorless. The cooks must have forgot to add key ingredients. I hope this isn't a trend. —AnnieSirrah

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2008-05-30 18:02:25   To reply to the above, they probably put too much water in it. The pho soups are add water. —JamesSchwab

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2008-06-14 16:13:19   Oh the CoHo. What fond memories I have of this place. I remember always stopping by the bakery/coffee shop for cookies or their scrumptious lemon bars between classes. The burritos were awesome. Tasty and HUGE! Seriously HUGE. I've heard rumors that they are not as big as they used to be. I'm sure they're big enough if you are a person with a normal appetite, but size really does matter to me (heh). The soups were well made. I never really got into all of the slop that they would sell. In my time they had troughs full of mysterious looking stuff —all with tofu and sprouts and such. It seems that they still do and are immensely popular with people. When I looked at the cups full of whatever mess they were selling that day it always reminded me of what my aunt refers to as, "S*** on a shingle". —CurlyGirl26

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2008-07-05 15:03:54   Co-Ho is quite gross! Some things are good like their almond croissant and their Non-Authentic Green Curry Pho, but the area with the hot dishes has the worst food ever and it smells in the coho....very sad —islandboy12

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2008-08-30 12:36:59   I like the bean burritos here. They are cheap and filling, which is all anyone should expect of cafeteria food. I only wish we could get the option of just plain boiled pintos rather than refried. Still, its the cheapest lunch on campus (2.70$ stuffs me). —ascapoccia

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2008-10-16 19:16:50   Why did I only discover the CoHo my senior year?! I eat here almost everyday now and always order the veggie chili or whatever vegan stir fry they have with brown rice. Filling food, good prices, and amazing convenience.

Note: They sometimes add honey to their "vegan" dishes. —CandiceWang

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2008-12-15 12:33:45   I love the COHO. The prices are reasonable and the food is pretty good. I like the pho and most of the hot food line items. For some reason though, the pasta has not been that great the two times I've had it (overcooked and drenched in sauce). —DrWang

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2009-03-20 15:45:44   Anyone know when construction on the MU will start and end, and which portions will be closed off? —IDoNotExist

• My understanding is that it will start sometime in June and the entire hot food line area, bakery, and dining room areas will be closed. —jsogul
  

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2009-03-21 01:49:29   Anyone know why they don't accept REG cards or Aggie Cash, I know that's mostly used by Sodexhoe locations, but how hard would it be to link it up? They already take credit cards. Would seem like a good way to get all the freshman's business. —mperkel

• At least for Aggie Cash there is some separate hardware involved. Secondly, if by REG cards you mean Gold Plus, Y2Blue and the like that is a Sodexo only system. On the other hand, if you are referring to student accounts, I don't think that would be in the spirit of what they should be used for i.e. school supplies. —ScottMorgan
  

• Sodexho and the CoHo are direct competitors. Sodexho is not going to allow a direct competitor to use its proprietary accounting system. —jsogul
  

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2009-05-13 17:28:10   I've worked at the CoHo for two years, and the reason that we don't accept Reg cards as payment has to do with the fact that we are a break even business. While we are a unit of ASUCD, all of our operating budget, overhead, labor, etc. comes from the business that we do. When students use their reg cards to pay for something and then pay it back later, that money doesn't go back to the Coffeehouse.

In unrelated matters—the Coffeehouse will be closing down this summer in its current location for the renovation. It will still exist during the interim year on the east side of the MU. I believe that it will be open through Summer Session 1; as far as I know, plans are to reopen in June or so of 2010. —JoHolbrook

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2009-07-07 12:54:21   Not having the Coho this year is really going to suck, especially for people like me who work in Lower Freeborn and depend on the cheap easily accessible fare the Coho offers. Sure, there will be Coho substitutes in the MU, but it won't be the same. On the other hand, the renovation will be GREAT for downtown businesses. I will probably become a "regular" at 3rd & U and Ali Baba... —jsogul

• Wait — is it going to be closed altogether, or just parts of it?? Wah!! —CovertProfessor
  

• What we currently know as the Coho will be gone... and the office space that currently hosts the Post Office, the Aggie Student Store, the Old Post Office, Classical Notes, etc. will be converted to "grab and go" food vendors to replace the Coho. More here: http://theaggie.org/article/2962 —jsogul
  

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2009-08-05 11:43:19   The Coffee House renovation seems like a REALLY bad idea to me. Line efficiency will apparently be improved, but this might save a regular coffee house patron a minute or two per day in exchange for not having most Coffee House services available at all for a year. I would be shocked if the lines at the temporary Coffee House are not much longer, because this won't be a space designed to handle the kind of traffic that the Coffee House normally gets. Food selection (which was already good) will supposedly be increased slightly, at the price of almost no selection for a year. Seating space will be improved slightly too, but this could have been accomplished by adding an additional seating area onto the MU without disrupting existing facilities. Many ASUCD services, such as the post office, will disappear during construction too. Plus, we will lose the best social center on campus for an entire year during the renovation. It doesn't seem to me that there is any real net benefit in doing this, and there is a strong cost in food, services, and socialization in the mean time. —IDoNotExist

• Where did you get the slight from? From the plans I saw while working there, the amount of seating will be expanded by about 1/4, which is a bit more than slight (especially given that they have to have room for the growing student body in the future). Also, the areas that customers don't see, like the kitchens and dishwashing area, are being expanded quite a bit too. That whole area was very cramped, to the point of preventing people from being able to walk through during hours when the kitchens were in use. Also, the rambling layout made it hard to organize things like dishware, which, to my recollection, were stored in at least three different places. I know it's an inconvenience, but it isn't the end of the world, and the facilities are long overdue for an update. —JoePomidor
  

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2009-08-05 13:11:31   Seating was difficult to find there only during peak hours at peak times during the quarter. It definitely gets crowded, but surely they could have built an annex to the building without disrupting the activity inside. This could have also included expanded kitchen facilities. —IDoNotExist

• The kitchen facilities are all in one area. It would be effectively impossible to expand them while keeping them open. The few services that could continue to be offered in that instance are pretty much equivalent (or perhaps even worse than) the ones being offered at the temporary facilities. —JoePomidor
  

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2009-09-25 23:07:34   It's good to hear about the positive improvements the rennovations will bring, however I do think it's bad timing with the budget cuts that are occurring these days. Also I'm a senior, and a bit dissapointed I won't have access to my favorite campus food for my last year :[

Just found this post at http://daviswiki.org/University_Construction
"Funding for capital projects is separate from funding for salaries. A lot of funding for capital projects comes directly from the state government (some from the federal government) and from private donors. A lot of funding for residence halls comes from a special UC Housing fund. —JeremyOgul "

I'm guessing the new rennovations for the MU are included under capital projects. So before too many posts start popping up here about UCD funding buildings rather than professors and students I figure I'll steal Mr Oguls post. Though from the looks of it [aka the protest rally on thursday 9/24], plenty of complaints have been sent recently to the Governor's office on this very subject [to what effect is unknown for now]. Still, in the end, no more chipotle beef sandwiches or green curry soups for a while.

—alyssap

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2009-11-06 14:00:43   i've worked at the coho for the past 3 years, and many of you may think that it was fine the way it was or that all it needed was a little expansion but that's far from the truth. the place was falling apart - ovens broke, sinks broke, pizza equipment broke, the grill was temperamental; it was a mess. this renovation is long overdue. it does suck that it's happening now, as it's my last year here as well, but the renovation is definitely a good thing.

—cbrown