In the window of Mojo 516 Café, a popular coffee spot across the street from Lafayette College’s campus, some patrons noticed a bright orange placard reading “PUBLIC NOTICE OF APPLICATION ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES.”
But Mojo is not selling alcohol, nor do its owners plan to.
The current owners of Mojo and former owners of Campus Pizza: Lambros and Katherine Galanos, said that the liquor license was already theirs. The notice incited puzzlement and false assumptions from passersby and viewers about the café’s intention for the application.
Lauren Davidson ‘27 noticed the sign during a recent trip to Mojo.
“I didn’t have a ton of time to look at it, so all I saw was something about an alcohol permit and I wasn’t sure what they were going to be doing with it,” Davidson said of the notice.
The license has been held in “safekeeping” for the years since Campus Pizza’s closure, but according to Pennsylvania liquor laws, they have to transfer the license to Mojo, a process that could take months. Otherwise, they would lose the license on April 30.
Display of the oversized “public notice of application alcoholic beverages placard,” or PLCB-1296 form, is a requirement of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board for businesses in the process of acquisition or transfer of a liquor license. The form does not indicate plans for Mojo to sell liquor.
The owners emphasized that there were no plans for Mojo to start selling alcohol. Additionally, the class of the license stating the letter “E” means they would only be able to sell beer, not hard liquor.
Patrons could be heard outside of Mojo on Wednesday noticing the sign and commenting on the “liquor license.” Posts on Instagram and YikYak throughout the week also featured students learning about the license and questioning what this may mean for Mojo’s menu and atmosphere.
“It makes sense,” Davidson said after the purpose of the notice was explained. “I was just curious what the reason for it was.”
“I just thought it was kind of weird,” said Sean McLoughlin ‘27, who assumed that the sign was a license to serve alcohol. “I thought they were trying to serve some crazy kombucha.”
Selma O’Malley ’26 contributed reporting.
