Café TJ in the Thomas Jefferson Library at UMSL is celebrating its grand opening this week. (Photo by August Jennewein)

In case you missed a chance last month to try out the newest campus coffee bar at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, here’s a good reason to check it out now.

Café TJ, located in the Thomas Jefferson Library, is holding its grand opening through Jan. 25. Sodexo, UMSL’s food service, is offering 50 cents off any Starbucks drink during grand opening week.

The new Café TJ, carved from unused office space adjacent to the library’s main entrance, offers a full range of Starbucks coffees, snacks, sandwiches, salads and wraps. Café hours are 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Café hours will be abbreviated during breaks and the summer session.

Christopher Dames, dean of libraries and a former UMSL student, is excited about the project.

“I really think the students will enjoy it,” he said. “It’s a place you can meet your friends, relax, eat a meal, watch television and work on your laptop (there’s Wi-Fi). And when the weather warms up, there are new tables and chairs just outside the café. Those were a gift from student affairs.”

Dames credits library staff for the café’s ambiance. They chose colors, fabrics and furniture.

“I think the committee did a terrific job,” he said.

And if you’ve forgotten the rules for eating and drinking in the library, here they are. Inside the café, you can eat and drink all you want. The bright, sunny space has lots of tables and chairs, some with electrical outlets to plug in your laptop. Inside the library, the old rules apply. No food is allowed and drinks have to be covered in spill-proof containers.