Two months after having it’s liquor licence revoked by the university, the fate of Koerner’s Pub remains uncertain.

The Graduate Student Society (GSS), which owns and operates the pub, has so far been unable to regain their liquor licence from the university, which revoked it after two violations in March that involved serving to minors and over-serving customers.

“The whole GSS executive team is doing its very best to resolve the situation,” said GSS President Arvind Saraswat. “We do not have the luxury of affording any other infraction on our premises.”

Rick Carre, who was the manager of the pub when their liquor licence was revoked, has left his position. Reza Pourdana, the head chef, has been given managerial duties until a replacement is hired. Pourdana has a management certificate and has operated multiple restaurants in the past.

Saraswat did not comment on Carre’s departure, citing it as a private HR matter.

Over the past month, the GSS Executive has reached out to the AMS and UBC Food Services to see if either organization is interested in running the pub.

In a letter to the GSS Executive, the AMS formally declined, but offered to assist with making the pub more secure, adding they would like to see student owned premises run by students.

The GSS Executive have also had two meetings with Andrew Parr, head of UBC Student Housing and Hospitality Services, regarding leasing the pub to UBC. The university has shown an interest in taking over Koerner’s, but have yet to submit a final offer.

Saraswat told The Ubyssey that if the pub is leased out to a third party, it would be run in a similar manner, with no changes to either menus or atmosphere.

Regardless of leasing decisions, the GSS intends to implement a number of measures to ensure that future violations do not occur.  These include retraining staff to spot fake ids and deal with visibly drunk patrons, purchasing an ID scanner and securing the perimeter of the pub.

“The fence looks an awful lot like a ladder,” said John Green, a long time bartender at Koerner’s.

In addition, one bouncer was fired because he was working the night of a violation, and another bartender was suspended for a month.

Because it is no longer serving liquor, the pub has been experiencing financial difficulty, with a loss of over $20,000 dollars in April. It has also lost numerous kegs due to spoilage.

Due to the suspension, only six of 33 staff members at Koerner’s have been receiving shifts, with the rest having been given no notice of their status. Of those in limbo, over 50 per cent are international graduate students, who Green said have a particularly difficult time finding jobs.

The GSS argues that they were regularly updating the previous manager, and that it was his fault that the staff was not kept in the loop. Carre, who left two weeks ago, was given a severance package upon his departure.

Many council members however were sympathetic to the staff’s complaints.

“You have a staff that feels very misinformed, a staff that feels alienated,” said councilor Jamie Paris.

The GSS Executives has been working overtime since the pub lost its liquor licence, often putting in 20 or more hours a week, as opposed to their normal part-time schedule.

Saraswat is adamant that the GSS has no room for error.

“If this happens again, we will never have the ability to run a pub.”

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...