Best ASUCD Unit: The Coffee House
The CoHo has been voted the best ASUCD unit by students
BY JULIE HUANG — arts@theaggie.org
Voted “Best ASUCD Unit” once again, the Coffee House (CoHo), is a beloved space within the Memorial Union, located in the heart of UC Davis. Originally established in 1968, the CoHo began as an eatery that aimed to provide inexpensive, high-quality and convenient food and drinks to students on campus.
Today, the reliable establishment continues to serve drinks to thousands of students every day. However, the CoHo offers more than simply coffee; Malaika Dewar, a third-year communication and English double major, explained the enjoyable variety of options that the CoHo menu makes available to students.
“I like their smoothies,” Dewar said. “My favorite is the blueberry, but I also like the peanut butter banana.”
Vanya Malhotra, a second-year animal sciences major, noted that the ever-changing selection of seasonal drinks helps keep the menu fresh and engaging.
“Every time I go to the CoHo, there’s something new,” Malhotra said. “The drinks are diverse but also flavorful.”
The CoHo has been a go-to spot for students for more than six decades because of its reliability.
“It’s a relatively cheap place to get food on campus, and it’s centrally located,” Dewar said.
In addition to offering students food and drinks, the CoHo also serves as an accessible gathering place, atmospheric study spot and a tangible demonstration of the thriving Davis student culture and community.
“It’s busy, it’s bustling, it’s active,” Dewar said. “I work in the kitchen, so I’m there a lot. Most of the time I’m just hanging out.”
In a space where students so often choose to congregate and stay in for prolonged periods of time, running into people one knows is not uncommon.
“I see a lot of people there, and if I’m doing work there, I’m always going to see someone I know [who] I could meet up with,” Dewar said. “It’s kind of nice.”
Thanh Nguyen, a third-year English major, observed that the CoHo’s lively atmosphere, though cheerful, creates some difficulties at times.
“Sometimes at noon when I need a good snack, everyone’s there crowding around and taking up all the tables, so I have to find somewhere else to go,” Nguyen said.
Still, the hustle and bustle of the CoHo is its signature, and it speaks to just how much the CoHo is a central part of student life at UC Davis.
“Every time I go there, it’s magically really packed,” Malhotra said. “It’s where we went for my first-year orientation, so it was my first impression of UC Davis. Even then, I could really see and feel the welcoming vibes.”
Written by: Julie Huang — arts@theaggie.org