Clarity Hailed in Name of New Café

Last spring, the Lamont Café Committee (LCC) solicited name suggestions for the eatery slated to open in Lamont Library this October. With a stroke of creativity, the committee has christened the eatery the “Lamont Library Café.”

According to Beth S. Brainard, director of communications for Harvard College Library, two versions of a survey soliciting name suggestions were distributed: an official survey conducted through Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS), and an unofficial survey distributed through house lists by an LCC committee member that offered a reward of free beverages at the café for winning submissions. However, the LCC never received any of the suggestions submitted via the unofficial survey.

Brainard said that among the approximately 100 submissions gathered through the official survey, many students suggested names similar to the final product. The LCC liked the presence of the word ‘library’ in the name, which reminded students that the café was part of a study area, she said.

And this fall, administrators will once again call upon students, this time to manage the café.

At a meeting yesterday, the director for retail operations for HUDS, James De Zutter, spoke to around 35 would-be baristas and managers interested in running the student-managed social spaces in Lamont and the upcoming Penthouse Coffee Bar in Hilles.

According to Crista Martin, assistant director of marketing for HUDS, both cafés will be entirely student-run aside from one HUDS manager. “Students have the personality to make other students want to hang out there,” Martin said. “That’s what they’re there for.”

De Zutter said he expected the Lamont Library Café to be very busy, while the Penthouse Coffee Bar would operate at a “gentle pace.”

The Lamont Library Café will be open from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Sunday to Thursday and 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday to Saturday. The Penthouse Coffee Bar will be open from Sunday to Thursday from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.

All employees would be expected to take “ServSafe,” a class on proper food handling that HUDS employees also take. They would also be required to abide by a dress code and wear aprons.

—Staff writer Elaine Chen can be reached at chen23@fas.harvard.edu.