Only steps away from the bustling corridor “C” of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior is a small room dimly lit by Japanese lanterns.

Jeanne Roe Smith likes to compare the 580 Cafe on Hilgard Avenue to the TV sitcom “Cheers.”

The door is always open, the couches are full of students hanging out and the fridge is fully stocked.

Unlike “Cheers,” however, the food is free ““ no catches, no questions asked, said Smith, the United Methodist campus minister at UCLA.

The cafe, housed in St.

Celebration of the annual Diwali festival ““ a five day celebration that is one of the most important events of the Hindu religious calendar ““ came to the Hill Wednesday and Thursday through the Office of Residential Life.