For Students, By Students: The Teahaus Reopens Its Doors for the Year
Sofia Bard ‘28
Nuzzled in the North Lawn, a cozy gazebo-like structure stands. This is the student-run coffee shop, the Teahaus, which has reopened for the year. From $3 lattes to $2 teas, the Teahaus offers an affordable beverage option on campus. Open weekdays and weekends from 9 a.m.- 6 p.m., customers can enjoy everything from matcha to a coffee to-go or they can sip on their beverage in the intimate space bathed in natural lighting.
The only other coffee and tea option on campus is the Barbara Walters Campus Center(BWCC) Cafe. Unlike the BWCC Cafe, where students spend over $5 of meal money on an iced latte, the Teahaus is cash only, but sells their drinks and student made pastries for much cheaper.
For William Lines ‘27, it was their first time this year visiting the Teahaus and first time ever enjoying a beverage inside. Lines said, “I really like everything it brings that the Barb doesn’t have.”
It was the first day on the job for student barista Sadie Masket ‘27, who is eager to be involved in a student centered resource. “[The Teahaus] provides a space that’s student run, for students,” said Masket, “you get to meet new people and interact with students as your barista.” Students aren’t just baristas at the Teahaus. They do everything from shopping for supplies to managing to baking all the goods.
The former gazebo serves as a non-profit, is student run and employs students for work-study. Any profit the Teahaus makes goes towards the Student Scholarship Fund. The manager, Teresa Meehan ‘26, finds the Teahaus important for the campus community, specifically underclassmen. “In a place like the Barb where it’s really loud and chaotic, you can get overstimulated. It’s sometimes not a great place to get work done,” said Meehan, “The Teahaus is small, and so by default, people only stay if they want to. It’s a place where freshmen, especially, can come here and not feel like they’re going to get pounced on and feel othered.”
From the Teahaus guestbook, where students can write their names or even draw portraits, to not charging extra for alternative milks, this unique space adds something special to the Sarah Lawrence College campus.
“There’s a distinct difference in the amount of comfort that I’ve witnessed people be able to experience in places that are administration run, than places that are student run. There’s this universal idea of experiencing young adulthood with other people, and I think that it keeps you humble and it keeps you sane,” said Meehan.