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The EspressOasis location outside of the Beach Cafe has closed. MadHatter Bakery will take over the space following two months of renovations. During renovations, Carolina Dining Services will offer drip coffee.


Carolina Dining Services is currently in the final design stages with Mad Hatter Bakery out of Durham to take over the EspressOasis space outside of The Beach Cafe. Mad Hatter is owned by the same group that runs the Saladelia Café in Marsico Hall and the recently opened Saladelia at the Global FedEx Building. The Mad Hatter operation will include pre-made paninis, made-to-order crepes, a full espresso bar using Counter Culture coffee as well as various other grab’n’go offerings.

EspressOasis’ last day of operation was Tuesday, March 19th. The switch in concepts will require the demolition of the current EspressOasis space and construction of the new Mad Hatter space, which will take two to three months. So there will be no café in the Beach from March 20th through the early-to-mid part of June 2019. During this time, CDS will have Counter Culture brewed coffee in the Beach Café (the local coffee brand used throughout Mad Hatter and Saladelia locations), but will be without espresso drinks until Mad Hetter opens up in June.

A full espresso bar is available not too far away at the Friends Café in the Health Sciences Library (HSL). To get to Friends Café from the Beach walk through Bondurant Hall to Columbia Street and walk to the left to the adjacent HSL. The Café is right at the main entry of the HSL.

Please feel free to contact CDS if you have any other questions or concerns at https://dining.unc.edu/contact-us/. We appreciate your past patronage of the Beach Café and look forward to the opportunity to continue to serve the Medical Campus community.