Ma Thayer's Pub
It hasn't been all that many years since bar-hopping was a one-stop affair in the town of Hanover. Since Peter Christian's opened a few years back, however, alcohol has been a growth commodity in the off-campus scene. As of this date, there are four "full-service" bars and four more establishments licensed to serve beer in Hanover.
Soon to join the fray, but on-campus, will be "Ma Thayer's Pub," a project of the Dartmouth Dining Association. A plan that has been developing for over three years, Ma Thayer's Pub will be housed Topside in Thayer Hall. In the daytime, Topside will remain a dining area. At night, the snack bar which is presently being operated on the main floor will move upstairs to join the new tap system, and if all follows plan, the good times will flow.
Because of New Hampshire state law, the pub will have private club status. Each person desiring to join will have to pay a nominal membership fee. The law does not stop there: while food can be charged on the College ID, students will have to pay cash for their beer. In addition, Paul Moore, D.D.A. director, has indicated that the pub, intended only for the use of Dartmouth students and their guests, will be off-limits to all persons under the age of 18.
Until the second week of January, Dartmouth will remain the only Ivy school without an on-campus, non-exclusive student drinking area. The student reaction to the coming change? Ranging from indifferent to pleased. And the reaction from the soon-to-be competitors off-campus? All are in agreement that business will not suffer as a result of Ma Thayer's Pub. Murray Washburn, of Peter Christian's, says that only 20 per cent of his business involves beer, and Linda Dohanian of the Bull's Eye feels that the more places there are, the more business will be generated.
But for those who never really felt comfortable in leaving home, Ma Thayer may soon be providing enough service to rival the tender mercies of all those other moms out there.
It may take a January thaw, abetted by blowtorch, to free this 10-speed, left in the deep freeze by a vacation-bound student.
