Fliers announced it, students knew it and the crowds gathering once again on the first floor of Tresidder Union showed it: After less than a year’s absence, “The CoHo is back.”

Rather than the grand affair many might have expected, though — especially for a Stanford hotspot that closed to a wave of student protest — it’s almost as if it never closed, coffee lovers gather around wood tables, jazz bands play on the CoHo stage and laptops line the countertops. The only thing missing is the crepes — and those are expected on the menu within a couple weeks.

It’s a “soft opening,” as owner Ray Klein, who took over the CoHo tradition from Stanford Dining, described, “where we do our thing and get better at it. At this rate, we’ll be very well prepared for the school year.”

While most students who remember the old CoHo are away from campus, the new one has already attracted a healthy summer audience, including Stanford faculty, staff, community members and high-school students from the various programs on campus. Around 100 people came within the first few hours of the June 23 opening, according to Klein, and many more in the days since.

“The reception has been exceptional,” Klein said, “but we’re doing some exceptional things.”

In particular, Klein cites the improved menu of sandwiches, salads, soups and, of course, coffee. Klein is proud of the healthier options available, as well as the bakery selection of pastries and more. With four bakes each day, he said, “you can always expect a fresh croissant.”

And thus far, despite the somewhat limited options of the menu — Klein plans to greatly expand it over the coming weeks and months — customers are satisfied.

“I’m excited for the paninis,” said Erin Sadler, a High School Summer College student. “We’re coming for lunch.”

Competing with The Axe and Palm, which is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. this summer, for the lunchtime crowd, the CoHo is already holding its own.

“They take the time to actually make the food, as opposed to The Axe and Palm,” said Jamie Morgan ‘10. “The food is good and the drinks are among the better ones I’ve had on campus.”

Klein expects to add more drinking options in the coming weeks, as the CoHo is currently applying for an alcohol license. Once approved, Klein plans to offer beer and a chance to “listen to some music and have a glass of wine.”

“It’s not going to be a beer garden, though,” he added.

It’s all just part of the atmosphere, Klein emphasized. Among the reasons for students’ dismay at the previous CoHo’s closing was the loss of a casual, coffeehouse atmosphere, and Klein has worked to bring that back as well as improve it, with authentic bar tops, comfortable chairs and walls of original artwork, mostly a developing collection of caricatures of famous Stanford faces.

“My goal is to make it comfortable and a part of the University community — that students don’t just see it as another restaurant,” Klein said.

Much of making the CoHo the place to be again will involve programming, in particular the music that made the previous CoHo an artsy hotspot. As of now, the eatery features a Monday night Jazz Jam with the Stanford Jazz Workshop, which attracts a healthy crowd of around 70 people. Movies and sports are also featured on big-screen televisions many days, but there is much more to come, according to SSE officer and CoHo Programming Coordinator Kyle Wulff ‘08.

“We want this to be a place where people will know there’s always something interesting happening, where you can be sure you’ll have a good time,” Wulff said.

While the summer is a testing ground for many events, Wulff hopes to see at least three official programs each week during the academic year. Among these could be a weekly concert series hosted by Stanford Concert Network, trivia nights, spoken word and even a monthly wine tasting class, if the alcohol license is approved.

Many of these programs and the revitalization of the CoHo atmosphere will involve student input and feedback. Besides talking with visitors and soliciting the input of the ASSU and various student groups, Wulff cited the feedback form available on the CoHo Web site (coho.stanford.edu) as a great way of reconnecting with the old CoHo crowd as well as new visitors.

As SSE CEO Matt McLaughlin ‘08 noted, “The opening is a much longer battle [than the first day],” and the new CoHo will develop with time and the feedback received.

“It’s all part of a change in eating habits, bringing people back to the CoHo, changing people’s social lives so they come back to the CoHo again,” McLaughlin said. “There are a lot of things that need to change to make it successful, to make it a student hub again.”

For now, the CoHo serves as a hub for summer nightlife, open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., or whenever programming ends. After the outcry this past academic year over the previous CoHo’s closing, it’s likely enough for all those who missed it.

“I can’t predict what the future will bring,” said Vice Provost for Student Affairs Greg Boardman, “but I’m sure that in the fall students will be delighted to find that the CoHo is once again ready to welcome students back.”

— Kelsey Mesher contributed to this report.