Brewing in Boelter: Little-known SEAS Cafe in South Campus offers cheap coffee, food in comfortable study spot

Entering the fifth floor of Boelter Hall, students can follow the smell of coffee through twisting hallways until they reach the engineering lounge.

Proceed past the studiers and foosball table, and they will find a haven for students who are struck with munchies and coffee cravings ““ the little-known School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, or SEAS, Cafe.

The cafe, which the employees boast to be one of the cheapest places to eat on campus, has a wide selection of food and beverages, offering everything from coffee and candy to sandwiches and ramen, said Rodrigo Jimenez, a third-year political science student and general manager of the cafe.

“The only thing we don’t have is a salad bar,” he said with a laugh.

Previously located in a smaller room on the same floor, the cafe was able to expand its business and move to its current location by the engineering lounge during winter quarter after more than four years of remodeling plans, Jimenez said.

The cafe was created by students and first opened in the 1940s. It was made for engineers, and South Campus students are the most frequent customers, said Cathryne Chao, a third-year psychology and classics student who has worked at SEAS for the past two years.

Though people have been interested in it for a while, there are still a lot of students who don’t know about it, Jimenez said.

Information about SEAS Cafe, inconspicuously hidden among classrooms and laboratories in Boelter Hall, had previously been passed along by word of mouth.

Ning Jin, an electrical engineering graduate student, was first introduced to the cafe last year when her friends took her there, she said.

However, realizing there was a portion of the UCLA student population that had not yet been reached by the SEAS Cafe, student employees recently began advertising the cafe’s “public debut” in April, Jimenez said.

A Facebook page for the cafe was created, and the staff plans to give away free merchandise next week to increase the cafe’s popularity, he said.

The SEAS Cafe is relatively small and simple, especially when compared to the nearby Court of Sciences Student Center.

But its understated comfort and services, in addition to its location on South Campus, seem to appeal to those students who know about it.

Music blared in the background on Monday while students stopped at the cafe to buy snacks or grab coffee on their way to class.

Others lounged at the tables lining the walls further down the cafe, enjoying their food and studying.

A station of microwaves, toasters and various condiments rests in the middle, creating a degree of separation between the shoppers and eaters.

One of these students was Jin, who was eating a cup of noodles before going to her next class.

She said she frequents SEAS Cafe often for the coffee and cheap prices.

And the crowds at rush hour do not deter her because the service is always fast, she said.

Likewise, Richard Ye, a fourth-year computer science student, is a regular customer who discovered the cafe after his friend told him about it, he said.

Ever since his friend introduced him to the place, SEAS Cafe has become one of his favorite study spots, and he visits the cafe almost every day to take advantage of the cheap prices, Ye said.

The cafe is entirely student-run, which Chao said she thinks helps contribute to the relaxed, friendly environment and to ensure that the customers are not overcharged.

SEAS Cafe is also a nonprofit service, meaning that all revenue goes back to the university, Jimenez said.

“It’s a business run for students, by students,” he said.