Last semester, two articles were published in the Collegian, each offering opposing views on how Peirce Pub can best be utilized. While one student proclaimed a passionate plea for the space to live up to its name and become the next campus hub, another student made the argument for the space to remain a safe haven for introverted students.

While this author chooses no side in the Peirce Pub debate, perhaps the meandering history of the pub can speak for itself. From its genesis in 1929 to its expiration in 2018, Peirce Pub has lived many lives. Perhaps only now, it is finally getting the rest it deserves.

 When Peirce Hall opened in 1929, what is now Peirce Pub was introduced as the Coffee Shop. Fully equipped with bar stools and a juke box, the shop sold everything a Kenyon man could want: food, candy and cigars. Of course, alcohol wasn’t added to the mix until after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, but nonetheless, the place was an instant success. One student said it best: “The Coffee Shop is a refuge for us when another parsleyed, buttered potato simply won’t go down.” 

Troubles arose in 1950 when the Coffee Shop’s popularity started to dwindle and money became an issue. A Collegian issue from that year attributes this letdown to the emergence of a rival student sandwich business. When staff attempted to shut down this business in order to revive the shop, students were not happy. “It seems that the [administration] has taken another step to protect its own interest without regard to the student welfare,” the article stated. The Coffee Shop ended up losing $3,000 that year, leading to the decision to temporarily close the space.

After a yearlong hiatus, the shop made a return, gaining more traction in the ’60s when it became the only space on campus that sold beer. However, described as having a “monopoly” on campus, the small space became unpleasantly busy, and was often criticized for running out of food. 

In 1970, the Coffee Shop went through exciting renovations, doubling in square footage by tearing down what was an adjacent ping-pong room, and installing air conditioning. With these refurbishments came a new name: “the Peirce Shoppes.” 

Alas, the renovations did not seem to solve the issue of the Shoppes’ obsolete nature. A 1976 article wrote, “​​Out-dated farm utensils, an antique rocking horse and a rusty metal toy truck, … Peirce Shoppes speak the language of a different era. Perhaps their best business remains in that faded age too.”

If air conditioning couldn’t solve the Shoppes’ popularity problem, what could? The answer was obvious to Shoppe manager and campus celebrity Hilda “Czarina of Pinball” Hite: pinball and disco. 

With groovy disco nights and electric pinball tournaments, the Shoppes was quickly resurrected mere months later. The Collegian reported, “Times are good down at the Peirce Shoppes … nightly business has nearly doubled in the last 18 months, and the snack bar cum disco night spot of Gambier has become a favored gathering place of Kenyon students.” Another student remarked, “the Shoppes is the best place to play pinball. There’s a unique sub-culture that revolves around this machine.”

With its fun ambience and extensive food options, Hite understood students’ only grudge with the Shoppe to be its strictly-enforced underage drinking policy. The Village Inn and Snow’s Tavern in Mount Vernon were far more lenient in serving alcohol, and thus gained popularity with students under 21. 

The Shoppes flourished through the ’80s, with movie nights, live music and comedy shows. However, in-person activity dwindled in the ’90s, with the business only keeping its head afloat through food deliveries. An article in 1994 described the Shoppes as a non-alcoholic restaurant. It’s unclear when this change was made, but it must have been in the early 1990s that the Shoppes went from lively bar to sober eatery. 

In 1996, with an eager student body and a hefty budget of $70,000, the Shoppes, now Philander’s Pub, went through another identity change. Renovated with new seating and decor, the pub’s reopening was well received by the student body. 

Renamed Peirce Pub in the 2010s, it became clear that no renovations, menu changes or live performances could convince students to spend a Friday night at the pub. “Peirce Pub is trying too hard,” a 2016 Collegian article remarked. In 2018, averaging six to 10 student customers a night, the plug was finally pulled on Peirce Pub. 

In theory, Peirce Pub should have been a booming success. Live music, greasy food, alcoholic beverages — what else could a Kenyon student want? Nothing! So why did it fail so many times? Here’s one possible theory: The formation of student hubs is a natural process, and can’t be pushed onto us by the administration. The Horn Gallery was created by students, as was trivia night at the Village Inn. A bar owned and managed by the College and located in the most conspicuous building on campus just doesn’t have the same appeal. Still, the identity crisis of Peirce Pub will remain a quirky part of Kenyon history. A 2016 opinion article put it best: “Peirce Pub probably won’t work, but will be a really interesting failure.”