There aren’t many coffee shops where you can find chopsticks, hibachi sauce and authentic Japanese noodles.

But this past January, St. Thomas’ struggling coffee shop “The Loft” added the noodle factor to boost sales.

Operations Manager of Dining Services Gayle Lamb said she thought something unique and different would draw more customers.

“We were looking for another food concept that we thought could be a draw, and something unique that isn’t served anywhere else on campus,” Lamb said.

The Loft employee senior Felipe Baluch said his shifts have been busier since the noodles were added to the menu.

“It’s a nice addition to The Loft because we didn’t have as many sales before but now that we added noodles to the menu we see more customers coming in,” Baluch said.

Though the noodles have helped a little, The Loft is still looking for more customers.

The Loft Supervisor Bruce Person said the sales still aren’t consistent.

“It goes up and down with the volume of traffic on the third floor. There’s not always that many people on the third floor,” Person said. “Convocation hours are obviously better times.”

Lamb noted that The Loft won’t be stopping with noodles. There’s a possibility for a Greek yogurt bar after spring break.

“I told Bruce (Person) and his staff that they’ll be dressing in togas with the grape leaf wreaths,” Lamb said.

Anastasia Straley, Alison Bengtson and Grace Pastoor collaborated for this report.