Once again, Alfie’s has been renovated. But while previous attempts to solve the bar’s financial woes by throwing more money toward renovations have consistently backfired, this year’s AMS executive is betting it has what it takes to finally turn Alfie’s into an atmosphere worth attending.
It is premature to reach any certain conclusions about the fate of Alfie’s in the upcoming school year. However, last Friday’s re-opening seemed to be a successful night for the bar.
Alfie’s drew a fairly large crowd last Friday, something that hasn’t happened in a long while. Inside, the bar has dropped the sports bar image it projected last year and now boasts more of a lounge atmosphere. Appropriately, martinis are now served and are actually pretty good.
Alfie’s would be wise to promote Friday nights in particular as good nights to spend at the campus bar. Stage’s recently decided to make every Friday night an all-ages event, which will likely provide an incentive for many upper-year students to go anywhere but Stage’s that night. If Alfie’s plays its cards right, it may be able to tap into a sizable market by selling itself as a good upper-year bar on Fridays. However, it should also be careful not to return to the past, when it trapped itself into being a one-night-a-week-only bar. If Alfie’s is to succeed, it must be popular for more than four hours a week.
One concern about the new renovations is that it may now be more difficult for QEA to book good live rock bands given the bar’s new lounge atmosphere. It is uncertain if large numbers of concert-goers will have a good time rocking out in an atmosphere reminiscent of the Tango.
At any rate, students will no doubt benefit by having one more choice available to them. What remains to be seen, however, is how many of them will actually choose Alfie’s.
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