Cholmondeley's Coffee House (Chum's)
Cholmondeley's (Chum's) is Brandeis' iconic student run coffee house, tucked away in the historic Usen Castle, named for a Black and Tan Coonhound belonging to the campus photographer Ralph Norman. Throughout its history, Cholmondeley's has played host to, among others, Tracy Chapman, the J. Geils Band, Joan Baez, and the first American performance of Genesis.
Cholmondeley's is a unique and intimate space where Brandeis community members are welcome to come to study, relax, spend time with friends, and hold study groups, meetings, or small-scaled club events.
Green Campus Passports and masks are required at Chum's.
NEW FOR FALL 2021!
Chum's will be hosting special programs and events and offering new menu items, featuring fun foods like cotton candy, popcorn, snow cones, and nachos! We now have a piano and Giant Scrabble. We also have Adirondack chairs, corn hole, and chalk for creating chalk art on the pavement.
Special Events @ Chum's
1st & 2nd Year Mixer @ Chum's
September 11, 2021
4 p.m.-7 p.m.
First and second year students are invited come to Chum's, located in the Usen Castle, to mix and mingle! Meet new people, make new friends, and enjoy music, games, and free snacks!
Campus Mixer
September 26, 2021
3 p.m.-5 p.m.
The Chum's team would like to invite all students to join us at Chum's for a fun opportunity to meet new people, listen to music, eat free snacks, and play games.
Hosting Meetings and Events @ Chum's
Clubs and organizations may reserve Chum's for 90-minute Meet & Greets @ Chum's for free throughout September. We are also allowing clubs and organization to rent Chum's to host small-scaled coffeehouse events, like poetry readings, theater and dance performances, stand-up comedy, a cappella, open-mic nights, and small concerts.
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Throughout September, clubs and organizations may reserve Chum's to host 90-minute Meet & Greets @ Chum's for free.
Please reserve your Meet & Greet @ Chum's using this Google Appointment calendar. Just find a date and time that works for your organization, click on the appointment time, and add your organization's name to the title. Then, add a meeting description, and click Save! After that, you must also register your event in Presence. Presence will prompt you to sign-up for an Event Support Meeting (ESM). However, instead of attending an ESM, please email leighhi@brandeis.edu to discuss and confirm your Meet & Greet & Chums.
90-Minute Meet and Greets @ Chum's include the standard seating arrangement and basic auxiliary audio.
Do NOT use the appointment calendar for longer or more elaborate club events. If your club or organization would like to host an event at Chum's, please see the section for Renting Chum's for Events.
University departments, clubs, and organizations may rent Cholmondeley's for small-scaled events by submitting a Cholmondeley's Space Request Form at least three week's in advance. After submitting a space request, clubs must also register your event in Presence.
Cholmondeley's charges a $50 rental fee for every two-hour block of time for each event. The fees are for services and equipment provided by Chum's, including set-up, basic audio-visual equipment operation, event monitoring, and clean-up. Student clubs and organizations must to pay the rental fee in advance. Cholmondeley's will email an invoice to the club representative who submitted the space request. The club's treasurer must submit the invoice through Presence. Graduate student clubs and university departments should arrange payment by emailing Leigh Hilderbrandt. Payment is due one week prior to the event.
Event organizers may not charge admission for events; however, donations may be collected. Cholmondeley's is not available for personal use or outside events.
NEW FOR FALL 2021!
Clubs can host their event at Cholmondeley's and have Chum's staff operate the Chum's food equipment during the event. There is a $10 fee for the supplies for each of the following machines: cotton candy, popcorn, and snow cone. If requesting to use the snow cone machine, clubs will need to supply the ice. If requesting the coffee urn, hot dog steamer, or nacho cheese/caramel/chocolate warmer, clubs will be responsible for acquiring the beverage and food that corresponds with these items and bringing them to Chum's prior to the event.
If you would like to host an event at Cholmondeley's using any of this Chum's food equipment, please complete a Cholmondeley's Space Request Form and note the food equipment request on the form.
Chum's Food Equipment
- Cotton Candy Machine - $10
- Popcorn Machine - $10
- Snow Cone Machine - $10 (for flavored syrups) - Club supplies the ice.
- Large Hot Beverage Urn (For coffee, hot cider, or hot chocolate) - Club supplies beverage prior to the event
- Hot Dog Steamer - Club supplies hot dogs prior to the event
- Nacho Cheese/Caramel/Chocolate Sauce Warmers - Club supplies corresponding food prior to the event
Cholmondeley's Space Request Form
Event Schedule
Check out Cholmondeley's Event Schedule to find out who is hosting an event and when.
Chum's Spotify Playlists
Enjoy the cool sounds of Chum's Spotify playlists! If you have a Spotify playlist that you'd like to share, please email your Spotify link to chums@brandeis.edu.
The Coffeehouse Playlist: a collaborative playlist of background music of the Cholmondeley's Coffeehouse
Trizzy's Cafe: Tre's playlist featuring lo-fi instrumentals, jazz songs, calm raps, and piano covers
Tre's Beach: A spring break styled music mix (original lyrics)
