University officials said this week that they will decide on a vendor by April for the Healy Family Student Center Pub, which is slated to open in August along with the rest of the New South Student Center.
According to Associate Vice President of Auxiliary Business Services Joelle Wiese, the University is choosing from a list that has been narrowed down to “less than half a dozen” candidates from 32 potential vendors. The original list of 32 was compiled by a student-administration committee after former vendor Fritz Brogan (COL ‘07, LAW ‘10) decided to withdraw from his agreement with the University last December.
“The 32 potential candidates were a diverse group: some are local, while others are from far away, [there] are [alumni] in the group, are from both small and large companies, … operate businesses on other campuses … [or are] completely new to the college market,” she wrote in an email to the Voice.
A major deciding factor has been the willingness of vendors to cater to student feedback and work with challenges that come with operating a pub on a college campus. Another non-negotiable condition is that the pub must be 18 and up, which would allow younger students to enter the pub, although the federal drinking age would still be enforced.
According to GUSA Senate Speaker Samuel Greco (SFS ‘15), the “accelerated timeline” has also created challenges for interested vendors, such as in the acquisition of a liquor license.
“Asking someone to take on a job in late March to open in August can create a challenge,” he said. “Because there are about 7,000 undergraduates, a lot of people don’t think that’s feasible for their business model.”
According to Nate Tisa (SFS ‘14), outgoing GUSA president and a member of an advisory student working group, the committee is also figuring out how to maintain security and fair employment policies. “For us to be comfortable with a vendor, they have to be able to employ students and treat them well. We’ve definitely been looking for a vendor who has good employment policy already,” he said.
Tisa said that some vendors have pitched creative ideas, including a proposal to add a side room usable for separate purposes, such as club space and birthday parties.
Wiese ensured, however, that the pub will operate based on student desires. “The vision for the space, the menu, and the design really varies per vendor,” she wrote. “[But, ultimately] it is important to assess the vendors on how well they will embrace Georgetown, engage students, and focus on making the student pub a ‘student pub.’”
Tisa said because of the reduced timeline, he has confidence the risk of a selected vendor backing out of the agreement is low. “We’ve made it clear that we want it to open with the rest of the student center in August,” he said.
