Campus bar search in works
by Clayton Woullard
The Metropolitan
The well may have dried up over a year ago at the Boiler Room, but the
space is on tap for a new owner.
And SACAB, the Student Advisory Committee to the Auraria Board, is making
sure it happens.
After failing to pay the lease, the former owners of the Boiler Room
moved out in August of last year leaving the campus without a full-service
bar for the first time in a long time.
Due to student demands, the empty space could be filled within a semester’s
time.
William “Bill” Simmons, a UCD student representative on SACAB
who has taken the reigns in filling the Boiler Room space, wants to have
business proposals from potential vendors before the start of winter break.
“If we do our jobs ... it’s not going to feel like the same
place,” Simmons said. “It’s going to feel a lot more
lively. It’s going to meet student concerns.”
Those concerns, taken from the results of a survey SACAB conducted earlier
this year, include a full-service bar, healthy, yet affordable food options
and a lively atmosphere.
Simmons said these would all be requirements of any establishment looking
to settle down on campus, and would have to be included in the business
proposal.
“If they want their lease renewed, they have to abide by the requirements
in their contract,” Simmons said.
He also said he would like to see a full-service salad bar in the future
restaurant to fulfill the demand for health food which, he said, would
not be hard to negotiate.
About five or six businesses have expressed interest in moving into the
Boiler Room space since last summer said Dave Caldwell, Finance Manager
for Student Auxiliary Services, the administration that oversees the Tivoli
Student Union.
Simmons said construction workers are installing a new heating and air
conditioning system in the Boiler Room space and should be done by the
end of next month.
That’s when Simmons and Caldwell said they would like to send out
the proposal request, which will outline the requirements for any business
looking to move into the space.
They said the request will be put out to the public so everyone has an
equal chance to review it and pursue the space. Prospective businesses
and individuals will then have 30 days to submit their proposal to the
review committee.
“It’s going to be an extremely transparent process,”
Simmons said, commenting on how bias will be avoided at all times.
He said he wants to make sure there’s an even chance for small
businesses and large corporations alike to compete for the spot.
Caldwell agreed, but said it will ultimately be up to the committee whether
the prospective establishment meets the said criteria.
“There’s a number of criteria each proposal will be evaluated
on,” Caldwell said, “and whatever the committee decides on
that point, whether it’s a mom-and-pop (business) or a big corporation,
the committee will make that decision.”
After the business is chosen, it will have to apply for a construction
permit if remodeling of the space is necessary. Caldwell said it’s
very feasible for a new business to move in by the end of the spring semester.
Todd Zinck, a Metro student representative on SACAB, said he’s
excited about the possibility of a new bar and restaurant on campus because
it will add to the college experience for many students.
“I think it’s important to have a social atmosphere,”
Zinck said. “School is more than school itself ... and I think we
have to offer the best that we can.”
He said he hopes for constant student input throughout the selection
process.
“They (students) have just as much right to say who’s coming
in there as anyone else,” he said.
He also said the new establishment will be a boost for the Tivoli, especially
in regards to the revitalization, which he said SACAB has worked hard
to push through. Members from the past three SACABs will receive an award
from the Denver Honor Society Oct. 27 for their work on the Tivoli revitalization.
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