Spring Break
The Daily OrangeQuarter's to avoid bar pitfalls
Owner plans to keep out of legal trouble
By Maggie Beckwith
Posted: 11/17/04, 1:47 AM EST Section: News
Senior Shayne Fiske can still remember the night Konrad's closed.
She was in Faegan's Cafe & Pub when teary-eyed girls started pouring in with the news that the April 28 raid resulted in the immediate closing of Konrad's Sports Bar for good.
Fiske said she wasn't upset. Konrad's was known more as an underclassman bar and she hadn't been there in more than a year. She said she only really noticed the closing as the other university area bars became more crowded.
This January a new bar will open where the former Konrad's used to stand, giving students a new place to go. Like its predecessor, the new bar, Quarter's, will also be a sports bar.
"We just threw a bunch of names together that had to do with sports, and since lots of sports have quarters, it seemed to fit," said Joe Laxton, owner of the new bar.
The bar should be open by the time students return for spring semester, Laxton said, but first he has to work out final details with the state of New York.
A conflict arose when the owners of Faegan's said there was no need for another bar around the Marshall Street area, Laxton said. In the next few weeks, however, Laxton said he is supposed to sit down and talk with them and try to work out the problem.
Laxton said there is a need for something new around the campus. The same old bars and the same old scenery have been around for a while and the opening of Quarter's is sparking students' interests, he said, as many have stopped by or called.
"I'll go just because it's where Konrad's was," said Erin Johnson, senior graphic arts major.
Johnson said she remembers going to Konrad's as a freshman. The bar was crowded, tiny, geared toward underclassmen and always playing old '80s happy hour music.
Going to the new bar as a senior will be a full circle for Johnson, she said, just like old times.
The new bar will be far from a stroll down memory lane.
Remodeling crews are painting the ceiling and the walls, redoing the flooring and creating more open space. Laxton said the upstairs will be a full-blown sports bar with lots of TVs, while the downstairs will be a dance area.
By the time the doors open, Laxton estimates that between licenses, remodeling and leasing, $65,000 will have been pumped into opening the bar.
Laxton, along with his business partner, are newcomers in the bar owner world. Both co-own a construction business, but Laxton said he thinks good money can be made if they do things right.
Although Operation Prevent remains on the minds of bar owners and underage, would-be patrons, Laxton said he isn't worried about getting fined for underage drinkers. Laxton said he plans to hire non-university students as bouncers and use scanners to eliminate the problem of fake IDs.
"We're going to be pretty strict on that," he said. "We're not going to let people in if they're not 21. We know that we are going to be watched and we don't want to deal with 18-year-olds coming in and having their older friends buy them drinks."
She was in Faegan's Cafe & Pub when teary-eyed girls started pouring in with the news that the April 28 raid resulted in the immediate closing of Konrad's Sports Bar for good.
Fiske said she wasn't upset. Konrad's was known more as an underclassman bar and she hadn't been there in more than a year. She said she only really noticed the closing as the other university area bars became more crowded.
This January a new bar will open where the former Konrad's used to stand, giving students a new place to go. Like its predecessor, the new bar, Quarter's, will also be a sports bar.
"We just threw a bunch of names together that had to do with sports, and since lots of sports have quarters, it seemed to fit," said Joe Laxton, owner of the new bar.
The bar should be open by the time students return for spring semester, Laxton said, but first he has to work out final details with the state of New York.
A conflict arose when the owners of Faegan's said there was no need for another bar around the Marshall Street area, Laxton said. In the next few weeks, however, Laxton said he is supposed to sit down and talk with them and try to work out the problem.
Laxton said there is a need for something new around the campus. The same old bars and the same old scenery have been around for a while and the opening of Quarter's is sparking students' interests, he said, as many have stopped by or called.
"I'll go just because it's where Konrad's was," said Erin Johnson, senior graphic arts major.
Johnson said she remembers going to Konrad's as a freshman. The bar was crowded, tiny, geared toward underclassmen and always playing old '80s happy hour music.
Going to the new bar as a senior will be a full circle for Johnson, she said, just like old times.
The new bar will be far from a stroll down memory lane.
Remodeling crews are painting the ceiling and the walls, redoing the flooring and creating more open space. Laxton said the upstairs will be a full-blown sports bar with lots of TVs, while the downstairs will be a dance area.
By the time the doors open, Laxton estimates that between licenses, remodeling and leasing, $65,000 will have been pumped into opening the bar.
Laxton, along with his business partner, are newcomers in the bar owner world. Both co-own a construction business, but Laxton said he thinks good money can be made if they do things right.
Although Operation Prevent remains on the minds of bar owners and underage, would-be patrons, Laxton said he isn't worried about getting fined for underage drinkers. Laxton said he plans to hire non-university students as bouncers and use scanners to eliminate the problem of fake IDs.
"We're going to be pretty strict on that," he said. "We're not going to let people in if they're not 21. We know that we are going to be watched and we don't want to deal with 18-year-olds coming in and having their older friends buy them drinks."
