When UR’s long-awaited campus pub opens its doors next week, its customers will be able to use their declining balance and Flex accounts for non-alcoholic purchases.
The Hive, which has replaced the game room on the third floor of Wilson Commons, begins its 18-month trial period Jan. 31. Pub patrons will also be able to pay with cash and credit card. The Pub Committee decided Tuesday to accept declining balance.
“Originally, it was going to be a cash-only pub,” said committee member Troy Beason, who works in auxiliary operations. “We realized that would be somewhat limiting in that we do have a cashless campus.”
Committee prepares
The committee fears that parents will backlash if students are allowed to purchase alcohol with Flex or declining balance dollars.
“Parents put that money onto their kids’ Flex accounts thinking they’re going to spend it on laundry or at the bookstore, not on alcohol,” Beason said. “We’re trying to stay out of situations that might in fact kill the pub.”
However, testing it out for a trial period is not out of the question.
“The more options students have in terms of spending money here, the better it will be,” junior and committee co-chair Lonny Mallach said.
The place doesn’t look like much yet. A huge trash cart sits in the middle of the room. Paint cans and wood scraps form piles on top of three plastic-covered pool tables.
Construction will be completed by opening night, when campus bands Who is Johnny Flavorjeans? and 7 Energy will play for the inaugural celebration. There will be food and drink specials.
“It’s finally happening,” Mallach said. “There’s no other kind of venue on campus where you can just hang out with friends, have a beer and watch the game on a big-screen TV.”
The pub was originally scheduled to open today. Minor construction setbacks caused the delay, Mallach said.
Choosing a name
To choose the pub’s name, the committee circulated a ballot of 10 suggestions during last semester. They took the top three names from the 150 to 200 votes that were cast and then decided among themselves.
The committee eventually decided on The Hive, which edged out the other final contenders, Azariah’s and The Albino Squirrel.
The 101-capacity venue will have eight round bar tables as well as 15 to 20 shorter tables.
It also holds three pool tables, a large-screen television and four 25-inch TVs. Twelve glass cases will display photos and other UR memorabilia from the 1840s to the present.
Drink options
The local High Falls Brewing Company will supply a majority of the beer running from the six bar taps. There will also be Honey Brown, 12 Horse Ale and Genny Light, as well as dark and amber beers. Different beers will be ordered by the pub according to demand.
No hard alcohol will be served at the pub.
“This isn’t a place for students to go to get blitzed,” Mallach said.
Food Preparation
The Hive will have a variety of food choices such as pizza, popcorn, sandwiches, nachos and chicken wings. Aramark will employ both a bartender and a food service employee to work in the pub.
The pub has no kitchen, so all food will be prepared in the first-floor kitchen and brought upstairs from the kitchen below. There the food will be kept in food warmers until it is served. The third-floor venue also lacks adequate dishwashing facilities, so paper products will be used instead of glass.
During this trial period, a subcommittee has been formed to assess the pub’s success, using criteria such as profitability, campus value and risk to determine its sucess.
Though demolition of the game room and construction of the pub only began during last semester’s reading period, the pub’s history is far longer.
The pub operating hours will be Wednesdays through Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., and Sundays from 2 to 10 p.m.
Le can be reached at cle@campustimes.org.
