Get used to these names: Fickle Pickle, TxMx, Ciao, Cooks, Croutons, Chopstixx and Swirlz.

These are the food stations that you will find in the new and improved Coffee House, hopefully on Sept. 23, the first day of instruction for the fall quarter — or shortly thereafter.

“Everyone, from the contractor to the management staff, is working hard to open for the first day of classes,” said Sharon Coulson, Coffee House director.

But, late this week, Coulson said: “It’s unknown whether or not we will be able to meet that time frame. Our fingers are crossed for a September 23rd opening date, even if it's just for a few hours that day."

The CoHo has been closed for more than a year — to allow for an $8 million remodeling, the CoHo's first overhaul since 1990 when the UC Davis culinary institution moved in to the Memorial Union's west side.

Coulson has been director since 1983, when the CoHo occupied the MU's east wing. When she started, the CoHo served some 2,000 people a day; at the time of the closure last year, the number exceeded 7,000.

With that many people coming through, time had taken its toll on the facility, Coulson said. So, in 2004, the student body voted for the renovation, agreeing to add $8 a quarter to student fees to pay for the project.

Swirlz goes in the 'notch'

The work included a bit of expansion — the enclosure of what used to be an outdoor seating area: the “notch” on the MU's south side, between the east and west dining halls.

The “notch” is the home of Swirlz, where the CoHo brings its coffee, espresso, baked goods, ice cream and frozen yogurt to the same service counter — which, in this case, is an island in the center of the newly enclosed “notch.”

Swirlz also will sell fruit smoothies — a new offering when the CoHo reopens.

All the tables and chairs have been removed from the old food service area, which is now the home of the following:

• Cooks — the CoHo’s traditional hot food line (for casseroles and soups and the like), plus breakfast

• TxMx — the Tex-Mex grill

• Fickle Pickle — deli sandwiches and bagels

• Croutons — salads (but, no more salad bar)

• Chopstixx — the CoHo's popular pho bar, plus something new: sushi made fresh daily

From all these stations, CoHo patrons will funnel through a brand-new checkout area — leading into the old east and west dining rooms.

And, where the old sandwich counter used to be, you will find Ciao — where the CoHo has combined its pizza and pasta offerings.

Amid last-minute construction, the CoHo is training its new staff — some 275 strong — and doing so without being able to introduce the new workers to their work stations.

So, even when the contractor is finished, Coulson and her managers will need at least three days to train the staff where they will actually be working.

Earlier coverage: "Long-awaited CoHo renovation promises improved circulation, new bakery and even sushi" (July 17, 2009)