When the dust is waxed away from the newly placed grey tiles on the first floor of the renovated Collis Student Center, students will step into a campus pub complete with Dartmouth memorabilia, special food selections and five nights of programming a week.
The pub committee of the Programming Board is currently finalizing plans for The Lone Pine Tavern, the replacement for Hovey's Pub now located in the basement of Thayer Dining Hall.
Along with the rest of the Collis Center, the Lone Pine Tavern is scheduled to open its doors in the middle of January.
With a bar, a small performance space and seating for 80, the Tavern will host a variety of events including poetry readings, radio broadcasts, and beer and wine tasting parties in addition to live music shows.
"We want it to be a place for people to hang out," said Kevin Crawford '94, a member of the pub committee. "That's our goal with the Collis Center, and especially with the Lone Pine Tavern."
The Tavern, which will offer two more nights of programming than Hovey's offers now, will be open from 5 p.m. to about 1 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
"We have that many hours of programming to come up with," Crawford said. "Anything that people really want to do in there, we're open to it."
Coordinator of Student Programs Linda Kennedy said that campus radio station WDCR will broadcast shows from the Tavern on a regular basis. The Programming Board is also planning to schedule an open mic night one night a week.
The performance space includes theatrical lighting and a sound system, and will be able to accommodate dramatic presentations.
Unlike Hovey's, the Tavern will admit students of all ages at all times, although only students of legal drinking age will be allowed to order alcohol from the bar.
"It's going to be absolutely critical that students respect the law with regard to legal drinking age. We know that the liquor inspector will be looking very closely at the Tavern," Kennedy said.
For instance, if an underage student is caught drinking alcohol out of a friend's glass, the Hanover Police, not Safety and Security, will be notified. If such an incident should occur, the Tavern might lose its liquor license, Kennedy said.
"It's up to students to inform other students about the importance of these rules," she said.
The seating area will include four-person tables of unstained birch wood, and black-stained chairs and bar stools. The bar itself is midnight blue with wood trim, and the Tavern is painted in tones of burgundy and dark grey.
The Lone Pine Tavern will offer a unique new campus dining option, with live entertainment and no lines for food. The a la carte menu will include hot open-faced bagel sandwiches, meal-sized salads, stuffed baked potatoes and more.
"It's not an extensive menu, but it's things we think the students really want to have," Kennedy said. "We're excited about a gigantic brownie sundae that's going to be available after 10 p.m."
The food will be prepared in the Collis Cafe kitchen located next to the Tavern, and delivered to the bar.
"We tried to devise a system where you wouldn't have to go get the food," Crawford said.
The bar will serve cappuccino and espresso, as well as beer and wine.
The Tavern will employ a bartender for 40 hours a week. "We know we're not re-creating Cheers, but we want some sort of familiarity, where you know the bartender's name," Kennedy said.
The Tavern's walls will be covered with Dartmouth memorabilia. The Programming Board is soliciting campus and alumni organizations to collect photographs and objects which will give the pub "a Dartmouth atmosphere," Crawford said.
"We're trying to create something which will include all groups but at the same time have an old, authentic Dartmouth feel to it," Crawford said.
The collection process will continue over the years, allowing current classes of students to add their pictures and mementos to the walls.
