File photo. Soon to be Brandon University’s old Students’ Union Drinking Spot (SUDS) in the Knowles-Douglas Building. (Holly Kalyniuk / The Quill)
Early last week Brandon University’s Students’ Union Drinking Spot (SUDS) confirmed plans for an expansion.
Recently, the popular on-campus bar has received unprecedented attendance at weekday and weekend events and socials, including free pool Mondays and open mic night on Wednesdays. Over capacity on a nightly basis, SUDS has already installed velvet ropes to mediate traffic and ease congestion in the Mingling Area, where some students have waited up to four hours to enter the lounge. Soon, though, the lowly drinking spot will be so much more.
Construction outlines for the new and improved SUDS detail a complete renovation of the Knowles-Douglas Building, effectively uprooting almost all current businesses and organizations occupying the building, including Forbidden Flavors, Campus Books, The Women’s Collective and the highest-grossing and most-extensive university newspaper north of the 49th parallel, The Quill.
“Deep down we’ll be the same SUDS you know and love, but we’re going to have so much more,” said long-time SUDS bartender Karla Voth. “[…] You won’t even recognize SUDS.”
Amalgamating features of popular local restaurants, bars and pubs, the new premises are designed to appeal to all students. Set to include a club-style dance floor, a fully operational kitchen facility and fine-dining zone, area for pool tables and dart boards, and a small gaming arcade, the new building will constitute a full-size stage, intending to host live performances from local and big-name bands and performers at least three times a week. They are also expected to welcome newly reunited international pop sensation ABBA.
The Quill’s Editor-in-Chief Emily Diehl, leading the operations of one of the businesses heavily affected by the expansion, was unabashedly eager, reportedly tossing handfuls of confetti in the air upon hearing the news. The Quill Office located on the second floor of the Knowles-Douglas Building has been largely in need of repairs for many years, and through General Manager Elinor Murray’s pristine accounting capabilities, the newspaper’s distribution boom, and generous funding from multiple parties, the group is building a two-story office space beside the Music Building.
“I feel like my life is complete,” Diehl said in a press release yesterday.
In preparation for the expansion, SUDS has hired and begun training 15 additional staff members, including a handful of ACC Culinary Arts students who are eager to compete in SUDS’s currently unnamed competition to be sous-chef of renowned Italian chef Ettore Boiardi, after whom Chef Boyardee was named.
“The expansion has been long awaited, and is proudly supported by the entire faculty,” said BU President Deborah Poff. “Not only will it allow SUDS to accommodate a greater crowd, appeal to a greater variety of students, and host even more events, but the expansion will boost the university’s image and put Brandon University back on the map in a big way! […] Personally, I’m most looking forward to the release of their [self-brewed] SUDS Ale.”
Hinting at the possibility of SUDS hosting a variety of new events including a foam party and an event similar to the “epic sex club adventure” organized by University of Toronto Sexual Education Centre earlier this year, Voth also mentioned the introduction of a new drink and food menu that could feature exotic foreign delicacies, fine wines, and vegan/vegetarian options, in addition to the items presently available.
Voth admitted no one on staff or the board could have ever dreamed of SUDS expanding, and is ecstatic for renovations, which are scheduled to begin between the Spring and Summer Sessions.