On Oct. 1, Clark Hall Pub reopened after a year of suspended operations due to COVID-19.

On behalf of executive team RTZ, AMS Director of Communications Maddie Zarb said the process to reopen the on-campus student-run bar was extremely lengthy.

“Clark Hall Pub resumed operations after many meetings with campus stakeholders,” Zarb wrote in an email to The Journal.

Zarb highlighted that AMS President Zaid Kasim was an advocate for the reopening of the pub. According to Zarb, the AMS worked with the Engineering Society to plan a safe reopening for the location.

“President Kasim worked closely with the Engineering Society General Manager and Vice-President (Operations) on developing safety plans, providing counsel, and ensuring the reopening process was as fast as possible,” Zarb wrote. 

She added the opening of Clark Hall Pub was essential in ensuring students had a space to safely socialize and gather in the face of COVID-19.

“President Kasim noted the importance of safe gathering spaces for students to drink and socialize safely on campus and identified Clark Hall Pub as an essential service in keeping our students safe,” Zarb said. 

Due to the JDUC revitalization project, a suitable location could not be found to re-open another key campus hangout—Queen’s Pub.

“There was no suitable space for a satellite Queen’s Pub. Since Queen’s Pub was also closed last year, no staff were hired before the summer months,” Zarb said.

“It was not feasible to hire and train staff, and then reopen Queen’s Pub for 2-3 months, only to shutdown.” 

Zarb added that Clark Hall Pub continues to follow public health guidelines.

“Clark Hall Pub has an extremely lengthy safety plan that is continuously updated to reflect KFL&A [Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington] public health guidelines and Queen’s University safety policies,” Zarb said.

For students like Curtis Shorts, Sci ’23, Clark Hall Pub’s opening marks an exciting moment in time.

“It’s the first on-campus pub and first pub in Canada to be run by students. It was originally founded by engineering students to interact with professors outside of class,” Shorts said. 

Shorts added that Clark Hall Pub holds special significance for everyone in the engineering faculty. 

“It’s the centre of the universe; engineering lives and breathes Clark,” Shorts said.