Lamont Café to Test Out Earlier Hours

For the first time since its opening in the fall of 2006, Lamont Library Café will open at 9 a.m. instead of 3 p.m.

The Café will retain these hours Monday through Friday for a two-week trial period before deciding to make the change permanent. Closing hours and weekend hours will remain the same.

“These extra hours are based on student interest, so if enough people make use of the Café, the hours could become permanent,” HUDS spokesperson Crista Martin said.

Students said they appreciated the Café’s decision to lengthen its hours, but they were unsure whether it would be fully used during its new operating hours.

“I find it a nice experiment because I feel a lot of people will benefit from having the Café open earlier,” Diana I. Acosta ’14 said. “Lamont is such a central study spot that I think it’s necessary to have a source of food.”

Jason A. Y. Phillips ’13 was also optimistic about the possible change, but expressed different views about the hours.

“I think it’s good, but I honestly think it’s better if they opened it at noon,” he said.

But students also noted that the change might not impact all students, as students living further from Lamont might not take advantage of the new hours.

“It wouldn’t affect me much because I live in Eliot, but it probably will be good for freshman and Adams House [residents],” Jared R. Lopez ’14 said.

Other students feel that, although the new schedule increases convenience, it will not affect their own use of the Café.

“If it’s not wasting University money, it’s a great idea,” said Violeta F. Banica, a GSAS student, but added that she would not come to the Café before class because of the extra time it would take to check her bags in and out of the library.

Banica said that “[Café] Gato Rojo sort of does the morning job” and complements Lamont Library Café’s afternoon hours. The benefits of longer Café hours could help the students behind the counter as much as those they serve.

“I don’t know how profitable the early hours will be, but it definitely is a chance for students to make more money,” said one student Café manager.

The work shifts for these next two weeks will start at 8:00 a.m..

Mar. 30 will be the last day of the trial, at which time HUDS will “assess interest and decide if the hours change should become permanent,” Martin said.

In addition to testing longer hours, the Café is introducing one permanent addition—Starbucks Frappuccinos.

“That’s a nice new menu addition that may appeal to some folks as well,” Martin said.

—Staff writer Laya Anasu can be reached at layaanasu@college.harvard.edu.