Co-managers Larry Bender and Sarah Goldstein remember traveling into town for ice every morning and keeping extra supplies in their car during the first days of Caf\u00e9 Opus. Some 26 years later, the much-beloved coffeehouse has grown \u2014 its original location below McEwen Dining Hall expanded and Opus 2 snug within the Taylor Science Center atrium since 2005 \u2014 and the caf\u00e9 has developed a cult following among students, alumni, faculty, and staff. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s why the end of the 2020-21 academic year also marked the end of an era with Bender and Goldstein retiring. A new vendor will soon be named to take over operation of the two coffeehouses, continuing the tradition begun by its co-founders in time for the start of the fall semester.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Say congratulations and thanks or share your favorite Caf\u00e9 Opus memory with us. We\u2019d love to see your Opus photo, too!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n share now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n For Bender and Goldstein, creating a legacy that would live on for future generations wasn\u2019t always a given. Caf\u00e9 Opus\u2019 co-founders were not confident in the venture\u2019s success when they opened for business in 1995. \u201cCoffee hadn\u2019t really hit the area; the whole idea of a social space based around coffee or whatever, really it didn\u2019t exist at Hamilton at the time. This was a trial [when we] started out,\u201d said Bender, who originally predicted the venture might last five years.<\/p>\n Explaining the duo\u2019s inspiration for the caf\u00e9\u2019s coffee, food, and culture, Goldstein said, \u201cI think that Larry and I saw something Hamilton needed before Hamilton knew it needed it, and we brought it. And we stuck with it, and I feel proud of that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The co-founders attribute Opus\u2019 longstanding success to student support. Bender said that \u201cthe enthusiasm, the warmth, the stimulation that the students brought to the space\u201d motivated and enabled him and Sarah to continually breathe life, passion, and fresh chocolate chip cookies into the caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a home away from home, and we\u2019ve developed a family attitude, a family atmosphere, that a lot of them find this as a safe space.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n And for the students and alumni who regularly met with friends over brunch, enjoyed a mango brie panini (created by Hilary King \u201905) every chance they could, and bought a coffee the night before a test, it was Opus that made some of their most important Hamilton experiences possible.<\/p>\n Epitomized by Opus 1\u2019s comfy, well-worn, eclectic chairs, Bender and Goldstein always strived to make Caf\u00e9 Opus feel like a world away from the stressful, busy day-to-day of college life. \u201cI think students love Opus because it\u2019s comfortable, and I think that comfortable is what we were going for. Like, your home. Your home away from home,\u201d Goldstein said.<\/p>\n Bender agreed. \u201cIt\u2019s a home away from home, and we\u2019ve developed a family attitude, a family atmosphere, that a lot of them find this as a safe space.\u201d<\/p>\n With little fanfare \u2014 but tons of warm beverages and mango-brie paninis always served with a smile \u2014 the eclectic coffeehouse celebrated two decades on the Hill.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n read hamilton<\/em> magazine feature<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n Upon gearing up for their retirement, Opus\u2019 managers said they would most miss the students. Bender cited as highlights of his career \u201cthe constant evolution that\u2019s gone through from 26 years ago to now, the music that they play, the conversations that we have. \u2026 They kept us young.\u201d<\/p>\n Bender and Goldstein said they\u2019d like to thank all who supported them, particularly Nancy Soule, who ran Opus for 13 of its years, former Hamilton President Gene Tobin, Irene Brogan-Leone, and again, the students. <\/p>\n As for what\u2019s next, they are still figuring that out. \u201cIt\u2019s our summer,\u201d Goldstein said, looking ahead to an open, calm next few years. Whatever the future has in store, both are content with their decades of memories and the lingering smell of freshly brewed coffee.<\/p>\n\n
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<\/a>Caf\u00e9 Opus Memories<\/h3>\n
Say congratulations and thanks or share your favorite Caf\u00e9 Opus memory with us. We\u2019d love to see your Opus photo, too!<\/h5>\n
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<\/a>CONGRATULATIONS, SARAH AND LARRY! You are responsible for many of my fondest memories and closest friendships at Hamilton. Thanks for being such great mentors and friends, and for creating such a nurturing community for us Dark Siders, Outsiders, and Artistic Types. With Love, Rory Pavach \u201910 (plus her seven-year spouse, Opus regular Andrew Peart \u201910)<\/p>\n