Back by popular demand: CoHo to reopen in Tresidder with mix of old and new
BY ARIELLE LASKY
Some things are too good to go away. After a nearly yearlong absence, the popular student hangout at Tresidder Union called the CoHo—a typical Stanford truncation for "Coffee House"—will reopen to the campus community in mid-June.
"Students let us know that they were really disappointed when CoHo closed. They missed the tradition of socializing, dining and enjoying student programming in CoHo," Vice Provost for Student Affairs Greg Boardman said in a statement on May 1. "It seems the time is right to recreate the coffee house."
The CoHo's comeback will be collaborative. Heading up the reopening, Ray Klein, owner and manager of the nearby Treehouse eatery, will run the café and determine its menu. Stanford Student Enterprises (SSE), the business branch of the Associated Students of Stanford University, will collaborate with Klein to plan a wide variety of events for the space, such as movies, talks and live music. Klein said he expects there to be bands performing at CoHo several times each week.
SSE wanted to get involved with the café's operations to "ensure that the CoHo would have a distinctly student feel," said Matt McLaughlin, the group's chief operating officer. He and Chief Executive Officer Matt McDonald talked to Boardman about how SSE could contribute to the project. They then met Klein and worked out the details.
The new CoHo will retain some of its old charm—its original tables, leather chairs and performance stage—while also incorporating some fresh additions, such as a movie screen projector, plasma television and new countertops. Though the food selection will change, favorite foods, such as the CoHo's famous crepes, will return.
SSE also is developing a "mobile food cart" with the CoHo that will travel to dorms and houses that lack weekend food service. "No more wandering around campus looking for food on a Saturday or Sunday morning," McLaughlin said.
The CoHo's new hours have not yet been set, but Boardman's office indicated that the space will "open early in the morning seven days a week and close late in the evening." The café should be up and running in time for the Stanford Jazz Workshop this summer.
Arielle Lasky is an intern at the Stanford News Service.
