Tired of grinding up on fellow patrons at the Tombs, waiting for your beer and wishing there were somewhere less crowded to go? Wondering why there’s no restaurant or bar that’s closer to your home in Burleith or Henle? Georgetown may be short on campus hangouts—not including Leo’s or the second floor of Lauinger—but there is good news on the horizon. Georgetown should soon have an on-campus restaurant with a liquor license in the space formerly known as the Darnall cafeteria, Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson announced at the Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting on Tuesday night.
The University should be commended for placing Epicurean & Co. in the vacated Darnall space. Any crowded weekday dinner at Leo’s proves that another on-campus eating option is desperately needed. Epicurean & Co. plans to sell cheap sandwiches named after TV shows from a little before our time—90210, Melrose Place—and of course, there will be beer. The new restaurant, for which no opening date has been set, looks like it will be a cheaper, more student-oriented alternative to the uptight Hoyas Bar in the Leavey Center. Students should take advantage of the opportunity to make Epicurean and Co. an actual student bar on campus.
Unfortunately, Epicurean’s liquor license hit a snag when neighbors at the ANC meeting issued a protest against Olson’s proposal, citing their desire to maintain “peace, order and quiet” in the neighborhood. The University should not give up on their intentions for Epicurean & Co. and should make it clear to the neighbors that an on-campus bar will actually make their lives more peaceful, not less. Epicurean and Co. will help keep students on campus late at night and not stumbling drunkenly through neighbors’ sidewalks and front yards.
Creating a student hangout in the empty Darnall space maximizes Georgetown’s use of property, and giving the restaurant a liquor license is the perfect way to guarantee that students will actually frequent Epicurean and Co. The Tombs will still be packed, but at least now we’ll have another option.
