Students Take Over Quinnipiac’s on-campus Pub ‘On the Rocks’
September 15, 2022
Quinnipiac University’s On the Rocks Pub and Grill has reopened and is now being run entirely by students. The kick-off event was held on Monday, Sept. 12 from 6-10 p.m. introducing the three student managers: Joseph Coverly, Savitri George and Louis Stamoulis.
Chief Experience Officer Tom Ellett, says that the intention of a student-run pub was to get students actively involved around campus.
“I thought with a couple of other folks that it would be a great idea to have students more involved in co-creating the experience on the campus,” Ellett said. “So we went to a couple of open meetings…and we had a group of students show up and they ended up really wanting to run the operation.”
Ellett says that he would like to see more students, including student organizations, hosting events at On the Rocks to utilize the resources.
“My number one goal is to get more students in here [On The Rocks] using it,” Ellett said. “We would love to be able to see it become profitable so that it could open three nights a week, rather than two nights in the week.”
Third-year Ibaleze Garcia was excited to try On the Rocks for the first time since living on the York Hill campus.
“I’ve never been able to try On the Rocks and I’ve heard a lot of positive things,” Garcia said. “So me and my friends decided it would be a cute little de-stressor to come and get a meal together.”
Garcia adds that her first experience at On the Rocks has already exceeded her expectations of a student-run campus pub.
“I thought it was just kind of going to be an extension of the cafe [cafeteria],” Garcia said. “But I didn’t expect it to be a full on sit down situation…it feels very classy.”
Third-year Joseph Coverly who is one of the student managers at On the Rocks said he applied for this position to help him evolve in ways he didn’t know were possible until now.
“Leaving the military, it’s very regimented…and ambiguous work is sort of a weakness for veterans,” Coverly said. “So I saw this as a growing opportunity.”
Coverly elaborates on his favorite part of being a student manager thus far is the mentorship he has received at Quinnipiac.
“None of us have ever ran a restaurant before so there was a steep learning curve,” Coverly said. “The administration at QU dining made this a learning experience.”
Coverly encourages more students to join the team, to give him and other student managers insight into what they would like to see more of on the campus pub. On the Rocks will be open for students every week on Monday and Thursday from 6-10 p.m.
