Worn-in couches, rickety tables and what some might refer to as a mysterious musky smell. To an outsider, these characteristics aren’t appealing, but to a King’s student, they sound like home.
The Wardroom is famous for its cozy, laid back atmosphere. But after celebrating its 35th birthday last month, some students joke that the bar might still have its original furniture.
“It’s kind of like a dad’s basement,” said Taylor Saracuse, a fourth-year student at King’s and a bartender at the Wardroom.
Although King’s students love the ‘homey’ charm that the Wardroom offers, facility workers have been talking about renovating the space for quite some time. The challenge is keeping a balance between the ‘basement’ feel students know and love while still managing to upgrade the bar and make it an overall cleaner and more comfortable place.
Plans posted in the Wardroom demonstrate the proposed ideas for the renovation and claim that the upgrade will begin happening this summer. Some students are skeptical.
“Advancement has announced there is going to be an update in The Wardroom this summer,” says Saracuse. “That being said, I’ve heard that every summer since I’ve been a first-year.”
It seems to be one of those things where there has just been a lot of under funding and more urgent things have always come up.
Alex Doyle, director of facilities at the university, was unable to comment.
Erin McIntosh, a first-year student and avid pool player at the Wardroom, is excited about the renovations and hopes they happen soon.
“I fell in love with The Wardroom during frosh week,” says McIntosh. ” King’s to me is the Wardroom, but it definitely needs some TLC. As long as the renovations don’t attempt to modernize the bar too much I would love to see some upgrades happen.”
Kaitlynn Burns, also a first-year, agrees with McIntosh.
“I like the idea of a renovation,” says Burns. “But I would hate to come back to school in the fall and have the Wardroom closed because of it.”
If the renovation does not take place this summer, the Wardroom staff hope that some improvements will still take place, at least behind the bar.
“There are just a lot of simplistic things that need to be in place in order for it to be a more functioning bar,” says Saracuse.
Much like everything else at King’s, the Wardroom has been around for quite some time and students cherish the bar in a special place in their hearts. Students are cautious about a full renovation but almost all would agree that some upgrades are necessary. As to when the renovation will actually take place, that is still a mystery.
