Goodmans LLP Café re-opens at U of T Law after three years
After almost three years, the Goodmans LLP Café (“the Café”) finally returned to service at U of T Law on February 1, 2023. The Cafe’s opening was announced by U of T Law Associate Dean, JD Program Christopher Essert on January 27, bringing a selection of breakfast and lunch foods, coffee, tea and cold drinks back to the law school.
The Café first closed in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It had remained closed ever since, despite the return to in-person schooling at U of T Law in August 2020. Ultra Vires (UV) previously reported that a number of other faculty-specific cafés remained closed during the 2021–22 school year. According to U of T’s Food Services website, most of the dining locations have now returned to service.
In a comment to UV, Associate Dean Essert highlighted the amount of time and hard work the administration put into discussions with U of T over the past few years to reopen the Café. February 1 was “the soonest we could open it once all relevant discussions were concluded,” Associate Dean Essert explained.
The Café’s opening marked the end of U of T Law’s free coffee and tea service, which had been available Monday–Friday throughout the 2022–23 academic year. U of T Law first introduced the service in February 2022 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The administration also made free coffee, tea and snacks available during exam periods—beginning with the Fall 2021 exam season.
Associate Dean Essert confirmed that as the “exam coffee [service] was intended to make sure that students had access to coffee in the building during exams,” the much-loved exam service will not be returning this spring.
While the Café’s opening offers U of T Law students a greater variety of snacks and beverages, students have expressed frustration that they now pay for the same quality of coffee they had previously received for free. The cost of certain food items, such as sandwiches (lowest price of $6.99) and salads (lowest price of $8.99), is also particularly high.
Questions remain about whether the Café has opened up its full service. Students who attended U of T Law before the COVID-19 pandemic shared that the Café formerly offered a range of espresso beverages in addition to their current offerings. Current students and faculty members will have to wait and see if the range of products is expanded.
