New lodging gives Lions a den to call their own

Students at Texas A&M University-Commerce now have a new option in off campus living as the Lion's Den has officially opened for business, after buying out the University Inn.

The Lion's Den, located on Highway 50, offers lodging to A&M-Commerce students and has a café that is open to the public.

The city of Commerce—including the university campus—has seen an increase in population and business recently, with multiple small businesses opening in the area and student enrollment reaching 11,000. Director of Operations, Bart Jetton, believes that The Lion's Den will be something that students will enjoy.

"We're going to base our decisions on what is requested of us," Jetton said. "We have our concept, but that doesn't mean we can't tweak it to make it fit the area. It's all about being comfortable and having a good time."

The new student lodging offers 60 fully furnished rooms each capable of accommodating two students, but guests are able to redecorate if they prefer their own furniture.

"If they want to put up their own pictures and take down ours that's fine," the Lion's Den property manager Donald Thornton said. "If they decide that they like their bed they have somewhere else better than the ones we have here, then we can move theirs in and take ours out."

Students and members of the community are also welcome to the Lion's Den Coffee House, which offers patrons various food and drink options as well as a hookah lounge. Coffee House Supervisor Matthew Key explained that the menu is still growing, but patrons are welcome to a number of items already available.

"We have a different soup everyday, and we also have different sandwiches available," Key said. "We serve all the basic espresso beverages…and we sell Starbucks brewed coffee and hot teas available. We're starting out small [with the hookahs]. We just have single, one hose hookahs. We have nicotine-free herbal hookah, and then we have regular tobacco hookah. We have five different flavors right now, so people can come in and hang out and use the free wifi while they smoke hookah or grab something to eat."

The Lion's Den is moving forward with operations, and hopes to have ever room filled by the end of the Fall 2012 semester.