After an absence in the spring semester, students are now welcomed to the newly opened Jazzman’s Café and Bakery in the Ellender Hall parking lot near Ayo Hall.

The café opened to the public on Monday after café employees went through training last weekend.

Customers can pay with cash, credit card or their Colonel Card at the new café. According to General Manager Richard Curtis of Sodexo, this is the first freestanding café in the entire Jazzman’s franchise as well as the first to have a drive-thru.

“We lost a few parking spots, but we gained a drive-thru,” Curtis said. “I think students and faculty will really appreciate that.”

The café is open seven days a week from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, it will close at 6 p.m., and weekend hours are from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“We will monitor the traffic, and if we need to, we will adjust the times accordingly,” Curtis said.

While it was still in the Student Union, Jazzman’s offered various coffee drinks, fruit smoothies and a selection of muffins, turnovers and cookies. The new café has a full menu with a wider selection of drinks, smoothies and deserts, plus many more new items such as Panini sandwiches, grab-and-go salads and a South Louisiana favorite—beignets.

“We are currently testing the product (beignets) and offering samples,” Curtis said. “We want to make sure we get it right.”

In addition to the new menu, Jazzman’s will begin serving beer and wine to be consumed in-house. Curtis said that while he already has the licenses to serve these, they will not be available until a later date.

“I believe this is a great concept, and I believe whole-heartedly in the product line,” Curtis said.

Customers with smart-phones can also download a free Jazzman’s application to order their favorite coffee, iced beverage, cool jazz blast, tea or bakery items. The application, simply called “Jazzman’s,” allows customers with iPhones and most Android phones to order their item and schedule a pickup time.

“They will begin making your drink 10 minutes before you are scheduled to pick it up,” Curtis said. “If you paid for it through the app, you can skip over the lines and just grab your order from the counter.”

While the café is currently open to the public, the drive-thru will not be operational for the next few weeks. The official grand opening of the Jazzman’s Café and Bakery is scheduled for September.

“We want students to feel like they are in a real coffee shop like Starbucks,” Curtis said. “That’s our priority.”