Few students attend opening of Chats coffee shop

With little fanfare and few customers, the newest hang-out on campus opened on Locust Walk yesterday. Chats, a non-alcoholic, smoke-free "food court" located in Class of 1920 Commons, flung open its doors for the first time yesterday morning. But the Taco Bell Express, Gene's Beans coffee shop and bakery that make up the new facility welcomed only a handful of patrons, with employees themselves serving as most of the afternoon's customers. "We're holding a low key opening," Dining Services Director William Canney said, adding that he is planning a "grand opening" for the week after spring break. But employees and administrators did not seem deterred by the lack of customers, saying they were surprised by the low turnout and eventually expect the facility to achieve enormous success. "I foresee this being a very successful unit," said Andrea Monroe, Taco Bell Express's operations manager for the Northeast. "I think this will turn into a major hang-out later on." During the course of the afternoon, "Mr. Taco," Taco Bell Express's mascot, teetered unsteadily throughout the facility, talking with employees with a huge mask covering his face. College senior Fayad Abbasi, who serves as a cashier for the beverages section of the facility, said students might not come to Chats because of its association with Dining Services. "Most people think this is part of dining service but you don't have to be on meal plan to come here," he said. Chats accepts three methods of "cashless" payment. Students can use their Penncards and put their purchases on their bursar bill, open a Chats debit account, or put money on their Penncard using a system similar to a copy card machine. "We're hoping the card system will deter burglaries," said College junior Chan Park, the student general manager for Dining Services. "It's a little bit of a hassle for students but I think it will go our way." Park emphasized safety as an important feature of Chats. "We want to have a safe place for students to come," he said. Canney said he expects two very different groups to use Chats at various times of the day. During lunchtime, he said, students using the convenience of Chats to get something to eat will come. "But during the late night hours, we'll get a type of group who is not on the go and want a place to stay," he added. The few students who did come in and looked around said they liked what they saw. "It's fantastic," College senior Andrea Kemp said. "It's somewhere to go instead of Wawa." Kemp said she thought more students would use the facility during the late night hours rather than throughout the day. "Eventually, they might want to only have it open in the evening," she added. In addition to food, two of Chats' three rooms will have televisions and a computer with access to PennNet, Park said. Performing arts groups will appear occasionally to provide additional entertainment. Renovations to the facility began in mid-December and totalled approximately $240,000, Canney said.