The Creative Commons cafe in Tawes Hall reopened Monday after closing in spring 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The cafe on the building’s first floor offers Starbucks coffee and other beverages as well as snacks and carryout meals prepared daily, according to Dining Services spokesperson Bart Hipple.
Despite other campus cafes reopening sooner after the pandemic, Creative Commons remained closed until this semester due to low sales prior to the shutdown.
Tawes faculty and staff are the reason the cafe could reopen this semester, according to Hipple.
“They really have a need in that building for a place for students to gather, to talk with each other,” Hipple said.
The menu was simplified so it could be run by one employee most of the time, Hipple added.
Hipple emphasized the importance of providing spaces for students and faculty to gather and eat together because the university’s campus is so large.
“[I went to the cafe] once earlier this afternoon, and it looked like there were students gathering there today,” Hipple said. “I’m hopeful that this will become a place that students go.”
