Cabot House Hosts New Dining Services Convenience Store

Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) plans to open a convenience store in the basement of Cabot House next month to provide Quad residents with the opportunity to grab a snack or a new toothbrush without leaving the Quad.

The “compact convenience store,” underneath E-entry in Cabot, will offer about 1,500 items ranging from sodas, Fresh Samantha, microwave foods like popcorn, Ben & Jerry’s, to more sundry items like personal hygiene items, batteries, film and magazines, according to HUDS spokesperson Alexandra McNitt.

In addition, it will include organic food and fresh-baked items—including a “delicious” giant ginger cookie HUDS will unveil this fall.

McNutt said the store’s prices will be comparable to a other convenience stores in Harvard Square and students will be able to pay with either Crimson Cash or cash HUDS is still unsure whether Board Plus will be accepted, she said.

The store will initially be open seven days a week from 6 p.m. to midnight. It scheduled to open Sept. 7.

McNitt said that HUDS has “toyed” with the idea of opening a Quad store for several years, but that until this spring the idea had never gotten off the ground. However, when HUDS took the idea to the Quad House Masters they heartily endorsed the idea.

“We know students need these items. It’s easy for people in the Yard or the River to get these things,” McNitt said. “[Students] are a lot more isolated in the Quad.”

HUDS has spent the summer renovating the space, which used to serve as a classroom but has not been used in recent years.

Cabot House Master James H. Ware said he was generally excited about the possibilities the store offers for students in the House.

“We believe that the store will make a significant positive contribution to House life but we will watch it closely to identify and address unanticipated problems,” Ware wrote in an e-mail.

Starting in the fall, a student advisory board will work with HUDS to determine hours, inventory and address concerns with the store.

Ware said he will also be monitoring the store’s impact on the House community, but that the Quad Masters were excited by the opportunity to further the Quad community.

In order to help build House community, the store will include a special wall for flyers and House announcements.

Ware also said that HUDS has agreed to pay the Cabot House Committee a small sum to offset any revenue lost from a decline in vending machine sales due to the new store’s presence. Typically Houses designate the profits made off their vending machines in their Houses go to their House Committees.

—Staff Writer Garrett M. Graff can be reached at ggraff@fas.harvard.edu.