On Friday night, Cholmondeley’s coffeehouse opened for the first time following an incident on March 6, 2015 during which the staff did not evacuate the building after the smoke detector went off. At the end of last semester, the space was open for events scheduled prior to the incident, but it has not been open for regular hours since.

Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Student Activities Stephanie Grimes wrote that Chum’s would be open to students from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on both this past Friday and Saturday in an email sent to the community on Friday evening. Associate Director of Student Activities Steve Pagios said in an interview with the Justice that the current plan is to open Chum’s for regular hours, but he also noted that the student management does not have all the keys to the building yet, which could complicate opening and closing the coffeehouse. “As it stands, Chum’s is open and will be for the foreseeable future,” student manager Elizabeth Villano ’16 said in an email to the Justice. “In fact, we intend on outlasting the castle and other various dimensions of time and space.”

On March 6, students smoking in the coffeehouse’s back room set off the smoke detector, and the Chum’s workers on duty that night did not evacuate the facility, according to a March 24 Justice article. After arriving and finding occupants still inside Chum’s, Public Safety evacuated the building and closed it for the night. Chum’s then remained closed indefinitely as it underwent a “reorganization,” according to Executive Director of Integrated Media Bill Schaller in a March 16 press statement from the Office of Communications. Former Chum’s employee Saren McAllister ’18 wrote in an email to the Justice that reopening negotiations between the two elected student managers, David Stiefel ’16 and Villano, have been ongoing since the end of the spring semester. As of press time, Stiefel and Villano could not be reached for comment.

“One of the biggest things they [the managers] wanted—which I am 100 percent with them [on]—is better training, so we’re gonna do more with crowd manager training, food safety training and I just kind of think group training as a whole,” Pagios said.

“I think my role as advisor and supervisor is just supporting them, making sure that we’re providing a space on campus that’s obviously safe and healthy and everyone can go to and feel welcomed.”

Pagios added that the event booking and hiring processes will be “exactly the same” as they have been, with an open job posting listed on the Brandeis Job Opportunities page for the latter. As of press time, there are positions open for Chum’s “Food and Drink Manager” and for “Chum’s Event Manager” on the job opportunities page. The listing is open to any students who wish to apply, Pagios said, though he also noted that former Chum’s employees will have the benefit of previous work experience in the same environment. Though she has not yet had her interview, McAllister noted that one other former employee has been hired back, and Villano, Stiefel and that student will be running Chum’s until more staff is hired. She also noted that Stiefel and Villano are elected managers and did not have to go through the rehiring process, as they remained on staff during the hiatus. “The staff hopes to complete the ‘rehiring’ process as quickly as possible in order to restore and cultivate Chum’s as an inclusive student-run space,” McAllister said. “We are optimistic about implementing a few new policies and making Chum’s an even safer space for students at Brandeis.” Villano wrote that, though she did not work the reopening event on Friday, she had heard the gathering was “relatively low key.”

“Saturday night was really great, we had somewhere from 25-30 freshman come through, enjoy our tea, good vibes, and Lizzy’s ice cream,” she added. “What happens in Chum’s stays in Chum’s, but I can reveal that several musical instruments were involved.”

While it is unclear what the semester will hold for the staff, McAllister stated she looks forward to sharing the Chum’s experience with the community.

“Things at Chum’s might be a little different this year, but we [the Chum’s staff] are so excited to reopen and want to encourage everyone to come visit us in the Castle on weekends, to keep an open mind, and to continue making Chum’s the best, most unique spot on campus,” she said.