Dining & Food

Events at Columbia Law School (CLS) are normally organized by Special Events, Faculty Affairs, Faculty Assistants, Center/Program Coordinators, or Administrative Department Staff. Third party events at CLS are organized by the CLS liaison. Please refer to this guide for a successful event: Event Planning

Noteworthy

 

Organize Events

Indoor Eating and Drinking

Per University guidance, academic, research, administrative, social gatherings are allowed with no capacity restrictions. Eating and drinking onsite (indoors or outdoors) is allowed. Indoor masking is optional.

Reimbursement Guidelines

For purposes of academic enrichment, full-time faculty are encouraged to take students to lunch during the course of the semester or, as an alternative, may choose to host a semester-end gathering. These meals or events should not exceed $35 per person (excluding tips and tax) and should be limited to no more than 25 persons this semester. For more information related to meals or event planning, please email the Business Office at [email protected].

Please note that cash or cash equivalents (gift cards or certificates) of any amount are always considered taxable by the IRS. Gift cards (including for Grubhub and UberEats) are not eligible for reimbursement.

If you have any questions regarding the eligibility of expenses or requests for reimbursement, please contact the Law School Business Office at [email protected].

All food delivery and drop-off on campus do not require a contract and payment is made against an invoice. However, a contract is required for events of 30 or more attendees. Please refer to Event Contracts. 

We strongly encourage you to choose from one of these vendors that have already been vetted and approved by Columbia University: Approved Master Agreement Vendors

Catered Events

A purchase order is strictly required for catered events that include waitstaff or other labor. Please know that if alcohol is served, a NYC Temporary Catering Permit is also required for each day of the event. Please refer to Purchase Orders. 

Letters of Credit

CLS issues Letters of Credit to Local Preferred Vendors for the following reasons:

  1. Refreshments for TA sessions and in-class Faculty-Student Events (P-Card payment)
  2. Sit down events at Local Preferred Venues with 29 or fewer attendees (Invoice payment)
  3. Faculty hosting events in their home (Invoice payment)
  4. Alcoholic Beverages purchase at Local Preferred Vendors (Invoice payment)
  5. Columbia Bookstore purchase (Invoice payment)

To request a Letter of Credit Template* from the Business Office, email [email protected] with the Subject: Letter of Credit Template and provide the following information:

  • Your Full Name
  • Name of your Department, Center, or Program
  • Mailing Address
  • Email Address
  • Phone Number

For occasional, one-off events, email [email protected] with the Subject: Letter of Credit* and provide the following information:

  • Vendor
  • Person Making Purchase 
  • Name of your Department, Center, or Program
  • Faculty Name & UNI (if applicable)
  • Purpose
  • Event Date
  • Location
  • Attendees #: List full names of attendees if 10 or fewer

*Only authorized employees can issue Letters of Credit on behalf of Columbia Law School. 

Local prefered vendors that accept letters of credit:

Ethiopian/Caribbean Cuisine

Freda's Cuisine (646) 438-9832
Massawa (212) 663-0505

French Cuisine

Le Monde (212) 531-3939

Greek Cuisine

Symposium (212) 865-1011

Indian Cuisine

Manhattan Valley (212) 222-9222
Roti Roll (Bombay Frankie) (212) 666-1500

Italian Cuisine

Pisticci (212) 932-3500
Famous Famiglia (212) 865-1234
V & T Pizzeria (212) 666-8051
Lido Harlem (646) 490-8575

Mediterranean Cuisine

Marlow Bistro (212) 662-9020
Samad's Gourmet (212) 749-7555

Southern Cuisine

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que (212) 694-1777

Supermarket

Morton Williams (212) 666-4190
Westside Market (212) 222-3367

Wine & Liquor

International Wines & Spirits (212) 280-1850
Martin Brothers Wines & Spirits (212) 222-8218