Image Courtesy of Claire Fisher/ A delicious slice of what ‘The Skeller’ can offer.
By: Kelsey Purcell, Features Staff
Upon entering the black side doors of the Hickey Dining Hall, across from De La Roche Hall, there is still the familiar brick wall and wide descending stairs. But through the doors to the bar underneath the dining hall is a whole new Rathskeller.
A few weeks after its opening, students have opportunities to visit The Skeller’ and form their opinions.
Nicholas Morabito IV, a senior finance major, was amazed by the changes. He said the Rathskeller has a completely different setup than it did before the renovations.
Some of the changes to the Rathskeller include new flooring, a stage, renovated bathrooms, a bar and more tables and seating.
“It’s much more sleek and modern than it used to be when I was a freshman,” Morabito said.
Lorelei Kelley, a junior history and adolescent education major, likes the renovations.
“It feels more like a bar,” she said. “The old brown and yellow theme looked dark and dingy.”
The Rathskeller offers meal exchange between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Students can use a meal swipe to get one food item off the menu instead of paying for it with flex dollars or actual money.
Some items on the menu, such as chicken tenders, buffalo chicken wing pizza and Skeller Fries, are not eligible for the meal exchange.
Kelley likes that students can use meal swipes, but wishes they could use more than one during the meal exchange hours.
“I ordered fries and they were fine, but they were cold,” she said. “I don’t know if it was an off day. It’s better than the Hickey, but it’s nothing special.”
Morabito said he thinks the menu has changed a bit since he was a freshman. He recalled that there are still Skeller Fries and people can still order full pizzas.
“I remember freshman year you used to get 10 bone-in wings,” he said. “Now they only have boneless wings and you get six, which isn’t great.”
The Rathskeller serves subs and wraps now. Morabito said he couldn’t remember if they were on the menu during his freshman year.
Regardless of the menu changes, he thinks the service is great and the employees are friendly and nice.
“Everything is set up very well,” said Morabito. “It’s definitely got to be difficult for the employees when it’s really busy.”
It was crowded when Kelley was there, but her food came out efficiently. She also likes the use of the space and the different options for seating, including regular tables, high tables and couches.
“When I went down there, it was busy,” Kelley said. “But it felt manageable and not too crammed with the crowding, so I feel like they did a good job of furniture placement.”
The Rathskeller has been used to host many events since its grand opening. The Campus Activities Board hosted trivia night and an open mic night there.
The senior class had their 100 days until graduation celebration in the Rathskeller last Friday. Many more events will be held in the Rathskeller.
Bonaventure alums have started to visit to check out the renovations. A new generation of Bonnies will make memories in the revamped Rathskeller.
