Associated Students UCLA is currently working on a proposal to build a new casual dining restaurant in Ackerman Student Union focused on serving sit-down meals ““ and beer and wine will also likely be on the menu.
At a Graduate Students Association meeting last week, Bob Williams, the executive director of ASUCLA, announced that Chancellor Gene Block had given the restaurant’s preliminary plan a green light.
“It’s a proposal for a food operation, not a pub,” Williams said. “Given that, (student groups and the chancellor) felt it was OK to move on to the next planning stage.”
Specifics about the dining facility, however, are still being worked out, and nothing is official yet, Williams said.
This restaurant has been in the works, in some form or another, since a plan to redesign the student union was first drafted in 2003. The plan outlines a gradual overhaul of the union, and improving the dining options is a key piece, Williams said.
“It’s our job to keep Ackerman up-to-date and as beautiful and modern as possible,” Williams said.
ASUCLA is currently negotiating with third party vendors, including Wolfgang Puck, to fill the restaurant space. The association has attempted to work with Wolfgang Puck in the past, but previous negotiations have fallen through.
The vendor would be responsible for all aspects of restaurant operation and would hold the liquor license, not ASUCLA, Williams said. ASUCLA organizations, like catering, can serve beer and wine, but according to policy, they cannot sell it.
Williams described the restaurant, which would be built into the space next to Rubio’s on the first floor of Ackerman, as a quieter space centered around good food and healthy options.
He added that there would be a 15 percent cap on the percentage of revenue that could come from the sale of beer and wine, in order to limit the purchase of alcohol.
Other than occasional catering events, the only other place that sells alcohol on campus is the UCLA Faculty Center, which received its liquor license in 1968.
There is no UCLA-wide policy preventing organizations from attempting to obtain a liquor license.
Students and faculty have been lobbying for a place to drink alcohol on campus since the late 1970s.
The most recent effort was in 2005 and 2006, when students formed an organization called Bruins for an On-Campus Bar, according to Daily Bruin archives.
Current students had mixed reactions to the proposal.
“I think it would be a good idea to serve alcohol at night,” said Hogan Le, a second-year biology student. “But I don’t know why anyone would want to drink on campus during the day.”
Devon Balsamo-Gillis, a third-year English student, said she thought it would be nice to sit down on campus and have a full meal at the end of the day, but the inclusion of alcohol would shift the focus to drinking than eating.
Preliminary plans for the dining facility have yet to be officially approved by the ASUCLA Board of Directors, but Williams said he was hopeful they would vote favorably next month. If the process moves on schedule, the restaurant may be approved as early as the end of the summer.
The university declined to comment about the chancellor’s approval of the preliminary proposal.