Hold the mac-and-cheese wedges.

In the wake of the Gambier Grill’s demolition over spring break, a student committee, organized and headed by Student Council president Phoebe Roe ’16, has been working with administrators to plan a new late-night bar to be located in Peirce Pub. Though the transition will not be complete until the fall semester, the committee is hoping to pilot its intended changes during senior week in May.

“The idea is that it’s similar to the Cove and serves the same purpose as the Cove, but to be a little less gross, for lack of a better word,” Roe said.

According to Roe, the students involved in the pub planning were given some “non-negotiable” guidelines to follow, including that the bar must be in Peirce Pub, and that AVI, which has a contract covering the entire building, be the pub’s food and drink vendor. 

After sending a survey to students via a Student-Info email in March, the student committee submitted a recommendation to the College’s chief business officer, Mark Kohlman, and Meredith Harper Bonham ’92, vice president of student affairs. Their recommendation included a food menu centered on burgers and mac-and-cheese wedges.

In terms of alcohol, Roe said the administration has compromised with the student committee on the addition of liquor to the bar menu, and will approve the serving of mixed drinks, but not shots of hard alcohol.

Despite the Council’s attempts to seek input, some students doubt the pub can replace the Cove.

“Hopefully the pub could serve that function, but I don’t really know, because I think a lot of people are weirded out by their dining hall also being a bar,” Emily Margolin ’17 said.

Margolin said her ideal solution to the Cove’s removal would be the establishment of “a bar that functions as a normal bar functions.” She expressed further concern regarding the pub’s current use as a place to study and eat dinner. “I don’t know how it will be able to maintain that other function if also a few nights a week it’s a bar that probably will get pretty gross,” Margolin said.

One student committee member of the nine total, Ben Mackessy ’16, said, no matter what it entails, the transition from the Cove to the Pub will be a change nonetheless.

“The Cove was just kind of known for, like, everybody getting blackout and going home and hooking up with each other, and I think the school is trying to get rid of that culture,” Mackessy said.