Coffee by day, cocktails by night, CUNY's Cafe 365 by Aladdin Campus Dining pours new frozen winter drink seriesCoffee by day, cocktails by night, CUNY's Cafe 365 by Aladdin Campus Dining pours new frozen winter drink series

Identity crisis or brilliant business move? When it comes to a cafe serving graduate students that transforms nightly into a cocktail lounge, Aladdin District Manager Chris Cleveland is definitely thinking the latter.

Cafe 365's nightly pivot into lounge mode creates space for grad students to socialize after a long day.

"It's a great spot to relax at the end of the day and socialize with other graduate students while enjoying a cocktail," Cleveland said in a statement announcing the new renovations--and new identity--of Cafe 365. The cafe is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for coffee, and from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. for cocktails.

Aladdin's partnership with CUNY is part of a joint contract with the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and the City College of New York in Harlem has also selected Aladdin, making it the third partnership in the CUNY higher ed system.

Grab-and-go snacks help fuel grad students' busy days.

Cafe 365's renovation, unveiled in October, features an impressively stocked bar with all the ingredients for classic cocktails. Bartender Ross Brown is blurring the lines between coffee and spirits even further, with a new winter series: Frozen Winter Cafe, with blends of coffee drinks and seasonal liqueurs. Daily specials are part of the mix, such as $2-off happy hours. Non-alcoholic items are fair game for meal cards, and the cafe offers a loyalty program towards free coffee.