Inside the Current Issue

A GC Bar? It's True

Dan Skinner

Beginning February 23, at 5pm the GC Foundation Lounge, next to the 365 Express, will magically morph into a full service bar, selling alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and "light snacks."

The bar will be open from 5-9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the spring semester and, if business is good, may continue in the fall as well.

For better or worse, the Bar will be operated by Restaurant Associates, the food service conglomerate that has exclusive rights to catering in the building.

According to Paul McBreen, a DSC alternate rep involved in the process, "these will not be bargain-basement prices but the goal is to make it cheaper than bars in the neighborhood. No one is looking to make a huge profit; the goal now is to provide a sense of community in a relaxed atmosphere for students, faculty, staff, and foundation members."

Specific prices, according to McBreen, are still being discussed; so is entertainment, including the possibility of having GC students perform in the Lounge.

The bar plan has been floating around DSC for several years, and the current program was a collective effort of DSC, the administration and Restaurant Associates. Those with long memories, however, will recall that a similar plan was implemented a few years back in the 365 Express, but was aborted due to a lack of student interest and sustained cooperation between students and the administration on the effort.

To make this program succeed, DSC is hoping that programs with events on Tuesdays and Thursdays will consider decamping to the Foundation Lounge Bar, and that faculty and students alike will consider coming by after their classes to (as President Kelly put it) "unwind." Whether winding down or up, though, all GC students should come on down, have a cold one and give this new initiative some life.