Visitors to Cholmondeley’s will find that the popular hangout has stopped serving food of any kind as of late August. This is because the coffeehouse has not kept up with its food permit requirements.

Leigh Hilderbrandt, the marketing and box office manager, told the Justice in an email that during a site inspection in August, Brandeis’ Manager of Environmental Health and Safety Andy Finn and Student Activities Operations Specialist Darryl David ’09 discovered that Chum’s did not display any food permit in its facility.

Hilderbrandt and David then looked for the permit, and when they did find it, discovered that the coffeehouse’s food permit had, in fact, expired.

Hilderbrandt wrote that the former Student Activities Operations Specialist Sarah Richardson, who left Brandeis in July 2012, was the last person to renew the food permit in her capacity as adviser to Chum’s. This permit needed to be renewed each year.

Maria Anderson was appointed to the position of Student Activities specialist after Richardson left, while David took over Richardson’s former position.

One of Anderson’s responsibilities in this capacity was to be the new adviser to Chum’s rather than David.

“Unfortunately, it appears that the task of renewing the permit was something that was overlooked [in the transfer of responsibilities],” Hilderbrandt wrote.

Anderson left Brandeis this past May. According to Hilderbrandt, her job responsibilities were split among the remaining Student Activities team members. Hildebrandt and David became temporary co-advisors to Chum’s in August until Robert Steinberg ’13, the newly appointed Student Activities specialist, started last Monday.

Hilderbrandt wrote that they began looking into going about renewing the permit in September, but hit a few obstacles, including the fact that the staff member who handles food permits at the Waltham Health Department was on vacation.

Steinberg wrote in an email to the Justice that he has already filed for the new food permit.

Steinberg is also scheduling mandatory ServSafe certification—a course that certifies a person to handle food for three years—as well as allergen training for Chum’s staff. He wrote that he hopes at least one member of Chum’s will be certified by Jan. 1.

In the meantime, Steinberg wrote that there will be events scheduled at Chum’s without food service.

The beloved coffeehouse fortunately does not face any repercussions for serving food without a permit. However, according to Hildebrandt, there is no specific date for when service can begin; the coffeehouse has to pass an inspection, after which Chum’s will resume food service.