Jack Sullivan and her friends went to The Cellar Pub and Grill’s weekly wing night last Wednesday and noticed some unexpected changes.
“I like going there on wing night with like 20 bucks, get a little buzz and eat some food,” Sullivan said.
She said she checked her purse the next morning and noticed she had spent $45.
One notable change is the price of the pub’s draft special, one of its most popular items. The price is now $3.50 per glass and $11 per pitcher, up from $3 per glass and $10 for a pitcher last school year.
Sullivan said she and her friends waited about an hour to get seated in the “hot and crowded” bar. She said it is usually crowded on wing night, but normally there is a steady cycle of people leaving and others being seated. She said the wings took a long time and they weren’t as good as she remembers.
A Cellar employee overheard the interview, and offered Sullivan a meal and a drink on them. The employee said the pub employed new staff and a new kitchen manager, but the wait time was unacceptable.
The employee said the prices increased because The Cellar failed to break even last year. The Cellar’s general manager Patrick Hanson said the pub finished in the red last year, but did not confirm whether that was the reason behind price increases.
Hanson said that liquor prices had to go up to better align with costs.
“We have been at or around the same price for the last seven years,” he said. “As everyone knows, everything costs more every year.”
In regards to the new menu, Hanson said every chef likes to put personal touches on their menu, so some items are different, like new veggie options including a Greek pita wrap and crispy pickle chips. Many students are upset about the loss of Cellar staple “spin dip” – spinach dip with chips – from the menu.
“It is always important to keep changing things and try new things, in general, in a restaurant,” Hanson said, adding if there is enough costumer demand for certain items they would be willing to bring those items back.
