7,000 sq ft sports bar coming to Storrs Center

[Fairfield_1st]

Do people in their mid-30's to mid-50's still go to the usual dives when on campus for a game?

I go to Ted's regardless of what else is available. Having graduated in 1990, that's where my memories are, even though the joint looks different. These newer joints mean nothing to me. If I'm deciding where to go, Ted's it is.

 

[Dogdeacon]

What do you think this is an APR ban??

Great line, deserves a like from everyone that views it.
Cheers again to Shabazz, Boat, Niels, Deandre, Omar & All who made it so we can laugh about it even while it still hurts.

 

[August_West]

Thank god its not a BWW or Chicago Sams. Both those establishments should be nuked.

 

[Bezzz]

What's wrong with Chicago Sam's? Just curious.

 

[August_West]

What's wrong with Chicago Sam's? Just curious.

Well I can only go by a tiny sample size of 1 because that is the only time I went (and I will NEVER return) but last year my wife and I went to the one in Cromwell and had what is by far the overall biggest failure of any restaurant ever.
They won the triple crown:
1) Worst service Ive ever had. (over 30 minutes from being seated before a waitress came to take a drink order, after getting the drinks it was another 30 minutes before our food order was taken, then 75 minutes to receive the food (which was a burger and a sandwich)
2) Worst food Ive ever had: I had a pastrami reuben. My wife had a Burger that was burned beyond recognition. and it wasnt even the burger she ordered.
3) worst portions ever . If I said there was 2 oz of Pastrami on the sandwich I would be exaggerating. The tiny amount there was was falling apart like saw dust and actually tasted sligthly spoiled. My wifes Bun was double the size of the charred hockey puck of a burger

To cap it all off, when I went to speak to the manager about the dismal experience, they were dismissive and arrogant and offered to do NOTHING about it, and didnt even bother to offer an excuse or apology.

I wish that place to catch fire and never return.
And if a chain like that allows a single location to run like that ever, screw them too.

It makes the dreck at BWW look like 5 star dining.

 

[lange10]

Wait, UConn is adding ANOTHER place for their 20,000 student body to drink and have fun? But aren't the 15'x15' Ted's and Huskies enough?!?

This university is laughable when it comes to on/off-campus entertainment. The night life can be so barren you forget that it's a major college town. This is greatly needed and only a good start in something that should have been undertaken long ago.

As a current student I'll agree to disagree. Certainly enough happening. Sure, compared to the party schools down south, UConn doesn't really compare whatsoever. However, considering the party scene combined with the weekday bar deals, UConn is not as bad as you make it out to be socially. Though another big on campus bar wouldn't hurt.

 

[superjohn]

Well I can only go by a tiny sample size of 1 because that is the only time I went (and I will NEVER return) but last year my wife and I went to the one in Cromwell and had what is by far the overall biggest failure of any restaurant ever.
They won the triple crown:
1) Worst service Ive ever had. (over 30 minutes from being seated before a waitress came to take a drink order, after getting the drinks it was another 30 minutes before our food order was taken, then 75 minutes to receive the food (which was a burger and a sandwich)
2) Worst food Ive ever had: I had a pastrami reuben. My wife had a Burger that was burned beyond recognition. and it wasnt even the burger she ordered.
3) worst portions ever . If I said there was 2 oz of Pastrami on the sandwich I would be exaggerating. The tiny amount there was was falling apart like saw dust and actually tasted sligthly spoiled. My wifes Bun was double the size of the charred hockey puck of a burger

To cap it all off, when I went to speak to the manager about the dismal experience, they were dismissive and arrogant and offered to do NOTHING about it, and didnt even bother to offer an excuse or apology.

I wish that place to catch fire and never return.
And if a chain like that allows a single location to run like that ever, screw them too.

It makes the dreck at BWW look like 5 star dining.

Sound like you are still up in the air on it, maybe it's time to give them another chance.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Kemba's
Sweet Baby Ray's
Marshall's
"Boatwrights" (sic)
Husky Boo's

And of course, The Olliewood Grille.

"Banners Bar"

 

[BUConn10]

As a current student I'll agree to disagree. Certainly enough happening. Sure, compared to the party schools down south, UConn doesn't really compare whatsoever. However, considering the party scene combined with the weekday bar deals, UConn is not as bad as you make it out to be socially. Though another big on campus bar wouldn't hurt.

I graduated in '14 so things may have changed slightly with the addition of the Storrs Center but not by much I'd bet as I was there for its first year open.

You can't really know whether UConn is good or bad until you visit and compare it to similar tier universities. You look at any other major state university with a student body size similar to ours and it's not even comparable. Maryland, UVa, WVU, OSU even UNH all have entire streets and downtown areas with bar after restaurant after bar, and this doesn't even include the southern state schools which are just on a whole different stratosphere. Every college town bar has drink specials so that's not really a counter-argument or selling point.

At UConn you have Teds which can fit maybe 60 people before it becomes a miserable experience of bumping shoulders and lack of oxygen. Huskies is an extension of the Greek life scene with a slightly larger setting but not by much. And then there's Thirsty's which was my personal favorite and has changed name and ownership recently, but the point is three bars is not even close to what UConn's competition is working with, I repeat, not even close. Hell, even Syracuse which is a miserably depressed city has an infinitely better bar scene than us.

One major problem is that all this is happening in a town with little else for entertainment for the 18-22 year olds that keep the economy afloat, and local non-student residents who seem to resist any form of commercialization. No public transport and an administration that over the last 10 years has actively tried its hardest to destroy any off campus party scenes and have done so successfully to a certain degree, combine to aid the problem.

Let me ask you this hypothetical question. If a travel/food show like Diners, Drives and Dives came to the UConn campus, where could they go where it wouldn't be embarrassing for us.

 

[JMick]

I graduated in '14 so things may have changed slightly with the addition of the Storrs Center but not by much I'd bet as I was there for its first year open.

You can't really know whether UConn is good or bad until you visit and compare it to similar tier universities. You look at any other major state university with a student body size similar to ours and it's not even comparable. Maryland, UVa, WVU, OSU even UNH all have entire streets and downtown areas with bar after restaurant after bar, and this doesn't even include the southern state schools which are just on a whole different stratosphere. Every college town bar has drink specials so that's not really a counter-argument or selling point.

At UConn you have Teds which can fit maybe 60 people before it becomes a miserable experience of bumping shoulders and lack of oxygen. Huskies is an extension of the Greek life scene with a slightly larger setting but not by much. And then there's Thirsty's which was my personal favorite and has changed name and ownership recently, but the point is three bars is not even close to what UConn's competition is working with, I repeat, not even close. Hell, even Syracuse which is a miserably depressed city has an infinitely better bar scene than us.

One major problem is that all this is happening in a town with little else for entertainment for the 18-22 year olds that keep the economy afloat, and local non-student residents who seem to resist any form of commercialization. No public transport and an administration that over the last 10 years has actively tried its hardest to destroy any off campus party scenes and have done so successfully to a certain degree, combine to aid the problem.

Let me ask you this hypothetical question. If a travel/food show like Diners, Drives and Dives came to the UConn campus, where could they go where it wouldn't be embarrassing for us.

Also graduated in 2014 and I feel like I'm reading my own writing here. But I do love Ted's and I was a Thirsty's regular

 

[Hoophound]

Some of you younger guys need to get that sometimes the charm of a place is the very thing you are complaining about. I've been to and partied at several big schools, it was fun. I still love UConn and the atmosphere it is known for.

 

[BUConn10]

Some of you younger guys need to get that sometimes the charm of a place is the very thing you are complaining about. I've been to and partied at several big schools, it was fun. I still love UConn and the atmosphere it is known for.

Obviously? But we are talking about an intensely competitive field where other universities are using their facilities to attract prospective students. As an quickly rising national university we lack far behind in this area and believe it or not people take these things into account when choosing their schools, after all you will be living there for the next 4 years so it matters. The UConn atmosphere you mention is fun for the first couple years then quickly gets old, you can have that same feel alongside a real bar scene too, doesn't have to be mutually exclusive.

Also, that "old time UConn atmosphere" your referencing has changed big time. UConn is not the wild rural zoo it was during the 80s and 90s. It can feel like you are at a summer camp sometimes when you walk outside and see how much police and security presence there is down Hunting Lodge.

 

[Robertelamin]

Off topic but does the rape trail still exist? Not the path but the name.

 

[BUConn10]

Off topic but does the rape trail still exist? Not the path but the name.

Yes it does. There were protests and awareness-raising to change the name but I don't think it'll ever go away.

 

[SubbaBub]

It was a different era for college partying, but I'be been to large, small, famous and not so famous college party scenes. Some would blow your mind. The best scenes were the ones that had their own ecosystem. You don't need a ton of bars or a glitzy downtown scene. You don't even need a spring weekend free for all, which continued existence is a miracle. It should have by all comparable measures been killed in the 80's. There are few places that tolerate that kind of open underage drinking. But, I digress.

If you have a bunch of young people in close proximity on a regular basis, you'll have a solid party scene.

Back in the day I road tripped to SEC, Big East, A10, Big Ten, and Ivy country as well as D3 backwaters and women's colleges you never heard of. School size doesn't matter. In fact, all those places including several UConn contingents eventually came to visit my own little backwater school because we held it down like that.

Proximity, compactness, accessibility, and a regular crowd of diverse genders is all you need. You can roll like we did back then fully out in the open or with a wink and nod. But, it can still be done. I've seen the YouTube videos, you guys do OK.

 

[David 76]

Well I can only go by a tiny sample size of 1 because that is the only time I went (and I will NEVER return) but last year my wife and I went to the one in Cromwell and had what is by far the overall biggest failure of any restaurant ever.
They won the triple crown:
1) Worst service Ive ever had. (over 30 minutes from being seated before a waitress came to take a drink order, after getting the drinks it was another 30 minutes before our food order was taken, then 75 minutes to receive the food (which was a burger and a sandwich)
2) Worst food Ive ever had: I had a pastrami reuben. My wife had a Burger that was burned beyond recognition. and it wasnt even the burger she ordered.
3) worst portions ever . If I said there was 2 oz of Pastrami on the sandwich I would be exaggerating. The tiny amount there was was falling apart like saw dust and actually tasted sligthly spoiled. My wifes Bun was double the size of the charred hockey puck of a burger

To cap it all off, when I went to speak to the manager about the dismal experience, they were dismissive and arrogant and offered to do NOTHING about it, and didnt even bother to offer an excuse or apology.

I wish that place to catch fire and never return.
And if a chain like that allows a single location to run like that ever, screw them too.

It makes the dreck at BWW look like 5 star dining.

Other than those 3 points, how was it?

 

[August_West]

Other than those 3 points, how was it?

crappy

 

[Dogdeacon]

Also, that "old time UConn atmosphere" your referencing has changed big time. UConn is not the wild rural zoo it was during the 80s and 90s. It can feel like you are at a summer camp sometimes when you walk outside and see how much police and security presence there is down Hunting Lodge.

Its not UConn's fault if your parents sent you to summer camp in Beirut.

 

[FASTEDDY]

BWW in Wethersfield is THE ABSOLUTE WORST!

The Bald Headed Bartender is Terrible and Needs to Leave the industry ASAP - terrible personality and serves the worst drinks. We ordered some drinks and he completely screwed them up. He's an idiot.

 

[Rocktheworld]

BWW in Wethersfield is THE ABSOLUTE WORST!

The Bald Headed Bartender is Terrible and Needs to Leave the industry ASAP - terrible personality and serves the worst drinks. We ordered some drinks and he completely screwed them up. He's an idiot.

Well maybe if he was a half decent bar tender he wouldn't be at a BWW. Should really only drink beer there. A monkey can pull a tap lever correctly.

 

[J187Money]

"Titletown"

That's Green Bay.

 

[JMick]

Proximity, compactness, accessibility, and a regular crowd of diverse genders is all you need. You can roll like we did back then fully out in the open or with a wink and nod. But, it can still be done. I've seen the YouTube videos, you guys do OK.

It's not what it used to be. The party scene did a 180 between my freshman and senior year. The administration, town, and police force have done everything they can think of to quell partying big time.

 

[raf46]

As a current student I'll agree to disagree. Certainly enough happening. Sure, compared to the party schools down south, UConn doesn't really compare whatsoever. However, considering the party scene combined with the weekday bar deals, UConn is not as bad as you make it out to be socially. Though another big on campus bar wouldn't hurt.

Too much alcohol and all it's related problems are already on campus. Not just at UCONN, but everywhere. Ask the kids, and they are just kids, what they would give to have that drunken night back. Drink slower, and stop sooner.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

There's enough natural beauty and parks and lakes and trails in the area that there should be plenty to do August-October and April-May. The rest of the time, well that's basketball season.

 

[polycom]

This bar if it even will be that and not a restaurant with TV's and a bar area, won't change the nightlife at UConn. The issue with UConn nightlife is culture/people driven and not venue driven. UConn and the surrounding community do not want to known as a party school or party town so they've done everything in their power to make sure that doesn't happen. This doesn't mean you can't have a great time (I graduated '14) but I don't see how other nightlife options can be opened in a town that essentially dies once UConn students go home for the summer.