Quinnipiac’s on-campus pub ‘On the Rocks’ acquires liquor license
October 29, 2021
Quinnipiac University’s On the Rocks Pub and Grill has reopened and now has its liquor license to serve alcohol.
It originally opened in February of 2020 but was forced to close due to the pandemic. While the pub reopened on Monday, Oct. 18 to students, the liquor license had not been approved by the state of Connecticut until Oct. 20.
Chief Experience Officer Tom Ellett has been in charge of receiving the liquor license for On the Rocks.
“They changed the law July first and so the person had to go back and review our application and so we finally got it to be approved,” Ellett said.
The pub is open to those over and under the age of 21. If a student over the age of 21 wants to drink, they are required to fill out a form and show their ID. They will receive a wristband and are restricted to buying one drink at a time.
“You purchase your alcohol individually, one at a time, so you can’t buy two individually and no student who is under 21 can go to the bar area itself,” Ellett said.
Students can use their meal points to purchase food, which is supplied by Chartwells. The bar is cash only and there is an ATM located outside the pub for convenience. They are currently offering beer on tap, wine and seltzers.
The pub will be open Monday and Thursday nights. The Student Programming Board (SPB) will be holding events like trivia, bingo and live performances throughout the week.
The pub will also be open during and after hockey games this season. Student organizations can rent the space on other days of the week to hold events.
Quinnipiac students like Sydney Bordetsky, a second-year nursing major, says she is excited to finally experience the pub since it was closed all of last year.
“I’m really excited to try On the Rocks,” Bordetsky said. “I think it will be a really great thing to go to with my friends and something new to experience because it wasn’t open last year.”
The employees working at On the Rocks are Quinnipiac students, which is an initiative Ellett pushed for. Ellett was not present in the Student Government Association initiative to open the pub but has been involved since the start of his position at the university.
“One thing I’m really excited about is that it’s all student staff working at On the Rocks. For students, by students,” Ellett said.
