By Rosemary Peters
On Monday, The Anchor docked at Haggerty Hall and let all of the UP community aboard.
The Anchor, which replaced the Haggerty Lounge, is a small coffee shop and eatery whose purpose is to build community and make life more convenient for students who live in The Village and Fields and Schoenfeldt Halls.
"There are 600 people and nowhere to go to get a quick cup of coffee," Residence Life Director Mike Walsh said. "It serves a practical purpose like any neighborhood coffee place."
Sophomore Chris Lew, a resident of Tyson Hall, agrees that the new establishment will add a new level of convenience and practicality to his life.
"Sometimes I just want to get a quick cup of coffee," Lew said.
The Anchor will serve not only "grab n' go" food and coffee, according to Kirk Mustain, manager of Bon Appétit.
It will also offer paninis, espresso and 12 different flavors of gelato made by Stacatto Gelato.
Except for the gelato, all food and beverages offered in The Anchor will be provided by Bon Appétit.
According to Walsh, The Anchor, a combined effort of the Office of Residence Life and Bon Appétit, will be more than just a coffee house.
"We want it to be a highlight for the weekends," Walsh said. "It's a place for building community, meeting others and getting the apartment people out of the apartment to socialize. It's kind of like Cheers without the booze."
The Anchor has a small stage where for performances. The Office of Residence Life has a $4,000 budget for professional musical acts.
Although the eventual goal is to make The Anchor a hip hang-out, right now students are just getting used to the idea of having options besides The Cove and The Commons.
"It'll be cool to see how it turns out," Tyson resident and sophomore Katherine Braun said. "It'll be good for a quick snack."
Junior Nicholas Ong, a Schoenfeldt resident, voiced a similar sentiment.
"I'm not really a caffeine guy. I'll check it out and see what it is and what's up," Ong said. "It's a good idea because it can be a walk (to The Cove) sometimes and since its Oregon, if it's wet, that can be an adventure."
According to Bon Appétit employee Theresa Ducharme, Monday's opening was a "soft opening."
The purpose of the soft opening was to work out all the kinks in The Anchor.
"The espresso machine was not being as expressive as it should be," Ducharme said. "We're currently testing things and giving away free muffins to people who come upon the place."
According to ASUP President and senior Colton Coughlin, after working out the kinks, The Anchor is having a grand opening March 29 at 7 p.m.
"It's going to be a ribbon cutting ceremony," Coughlin said.
According to Coughlin, students who come to the opening will not only be able to see the new establishment, but they will also have the opportunity to win free DVD rentals for the movie rental kiosk in The Cove, as well as Axe shampoo samples.
The Anchor is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. It will also be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
"We're just glad to kick the doors open," Mustain said. "This has been a two-and-a-half year project."
According to Walsh, the idea for this two-and-a-half year project came from Jedd Chang.
Chang was the Hall Director for The Village last year, and he suggested the coffee house as a place for students who live in Haggerty and Tyson to hang out.
With the opening of Fields and Schoenfeldt, the project finally received enough enthusiasm to make it a reality.
