Brown’s California Café, or Brown’s, at the UC Berkeley Genetics and Plant Biology Building and Goldie’s at the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union, has opened for students to enjoy.

Cal Dining operates Brown’s, which serves coffee and grab-and-go items from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays. Goldie’s, a new addition to the student union, also offers hot and cold beverages along with various snacks and baked goods from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on weekdays.

“We appreciate students’ patience as we scale up our operations, as it becomes safe and feasible to do so,” said campus spokesperson Adam Ratliff in an email. “We know students appreciate a variety of offerings and at convenient locations, and we are striving to have the best possible options available across campus.”

After closing during the COVID-19 pandemic, Brown’s returned preliminarily with limited operations March 7 and fully reopened with a revamped menu of hot food service March 29, according to Ratliff.

Like other Cal Dining cafes, Brown’s lets students use flex dollars, along with other forms of payment.

Campus junior Luisa Bolo-Dave had heard of Brown’s during her freshman year, but was never able to go due to COVID-19 shutdowns. Now that it has reopened, she visits to eat and study.

“Incredibly quiet spaces stress me out so I like the vibes here — Brown’s gives me the same vibes as Moffitt if you’re hanging by the windows,” Bolo-Dave said. “I actually work better with white noise in the background.”

Campus senior Guadalupe Suarez agreed that cafes such as Brown’s and Goldie’s play a big role on campus as study spaces. Meanwhile, campus junior Sunshine Torres called the spots “essential” sources of caffeine for some students. Both cafes offer drinks from Peet’s Coffee.

Prices at Goldie’s range from $2.55 for a small drip coffee to $5.90 for large shot white chocolate mocha lattes and caramel macchiatos, while Brown’s charges $15 for a lunch plate. Torres notes that she would like to see cheaper options on campus as a whole.

Suarez and Torres, who both work at the Student Union’s information desk, received free drinks during Goldie’s soft opening March 22. Suarez affirmed that while Goldie’s coffee is good, she prefers cafes off campus as her go-to spots.

“We are still in discussions about other options that remain closed at this time (Pizzeria 1868 – At The Den, The Pro Shop at RSF, Terrace Café, Common Grounds),” Ratliff said in an email. “Our focus is on nourishing the Cal community, both for physical and social well-being, through customer-driven programs, culinary excellence and campus social responsibility.”