Rutgers Club Relocating

[ElmiraExpress]

Star Ledger
The Rutgers Club is leaving College Avenue, moving to another campus

I happened to be near the new Rutgers Club recently. The bar looks beautiful, with a second level outdoors patio facing the RAC. They told me officially the bar will open in September, but there will be a soft opening before that. The beer taps are in place. I’m not sure these will be the only choices, but beer taps were there for Kane, Carton, Demented, Flounder and Flying Fish, all very good NJ beers.

 

[RUnTeX]

rutgersclub.rutgers.edu

The Executive Committee will be busy this summer planning for the “official” opening of The Club. Mark your calendars for September 13, 2018 from 5-7PM and plan to join us for this very special celebration. Information will be posted on this website with the specifics and registration information.

 

[bigmatt718]

I happened to be near the new Rutgers Club recently. The bar looks beautiful, with a second level outdoors patio facing the RAC. They told me officially the bar will open in September, but there will be a soft opening before that. The beer taps are in place. I’m not sure these will be the only choices, but beer taps were there for Kane, Carton, Demented, Flounder and Flying Fish, all very good NJ beers.

I like the fact that they are all NJ breweries. Wonder if they will sell wine from NJ vineyards as well.

 

[RUnTeX]

I like the fact that they are all NJ breweries. Wonder if they will sell wine from NJ vineyards as well.

Agree, nice touch with all NJ breweries. Not sure about wines from NJ wineries, though the photo gallery on the rutgersclub website shows an event where Cali wines were apparently served. Another event showed servings from three different growlers by Flounder.

 

[e5fdny]

I happened to be near the new Rutgers Club recently. The bar looks beautiful, with a second level outdoors patio facing the RAC. They told me officially the bar will open in September, but there will be a soft opening before that. The beer taps are in place. I’m not sure these will be the only choices, but beer taps were there for Kane, Carton, Demented, Flounder and Flying Fish, all very good NJ beers.

How is the parking? How far from the lot to the front door? On Google maps looks farther away than I thought.

And what would you say is the walking distance to the RAC?

 

[ElmiraExpress]

How is the parking? How far from the lot to the front door? On Google maps looks farther away than I thought.

And what would you say is the walking distance to the RAC?

Walking distance to RAC would be about 10 minutes. I don’t know about about parking though. There are many lots around there, but like most Rutgers lots, they are permit only. If there is an open free lot, I’m not aware of it. Many of the “free” parking areas on Livingston have been eliminated, so not sure.

 

[e5fdny]

Walking distance to RAC would be about 10 minutes. I don’t know about about parking though. There are many lots around there, but like most Rutgers lots, they are permit only. If there is an open free lot, I’m not aware of it. Many of the “free” parking areas on Livingston have been eliminated, so not sure.

Thought I read somewhere on their website they have parking?

 

[Tango Two]

Rutgers spent $1M on this new club. Would you join it?


And, then, there is Rutgers.

Since 1957, The Rutgers Club sat at the end of College Avenue in a century old-house with a thrifty $25 membership fee. The kitchen was outdated. The club didn’t make money. And if you went there hoping to meet recent graduates, you were more likely to meet their grandparents.

“It looked and smelled like an old house,” said Joe Charette, the university’s executive director of dining services.

Enter the new Rutgers Club. The university this year spent $1.25 million in an attempt to transform the second floor of a campus dining hall into a bar and restaurant for Rutgers sports fans, faculty, alumni, students — and, frankly, anyone else Rutgers can get.


https://www.nj.com/education/2018/10/the_rutgers_club_bar_restaurant_new_menu.html

 

[Tango Two]

http://rutgersclub.rutgers.edu/

 

[Sir ScarletKnight]

Rutgers spent $1M on this new club. Would you join it?


And, then, there is Rutgers.

Since 1957, The Rutgers Club sat at the end of College Avenue in a century old-house with a thrifty $25 membership fee. The kitchen was outdated. The club didn’t make money. And if you went there hoping to meet recent graduates, you were more likely to meet their grandparents.

“It looked and smelled like an old house,” said Joe Charette, the university’s executive director of dining services.

Enter the new Rutgers Club. The university this year spent $1.25 million in an attempt to transform the second floor of a campus dining hall into a bar and restaurant for Rutgers sports fans, faculty, alumni, students — and, frankly, anyone else Rutgers can get.


https://www.nj.com/education/2018/10/the_rutgers_club_bar_restaurant_new_menu.html

God I hate nj.com.

 

[e5fdny]

God I hate nj.com.

Go to the Rutgers Club website instead...

http://rutgersclub.rutgers.edu/

 

[Scarlet Jerry]

The NJ.com article is a complete joke. The new space is beautiful and was well executed by the university, yet the article is full of disparaging commentary. The writer didn’t even do any fact checking. It costs $25 to join and yes, members can get access to the Harvard Club, as well as many other university clubs, via reciprocity. Typical NJ.com hatchet job.

Scarlet Jerry

 

[e5fdny]

The NJ.com article is a complete joke. The new space is beautiful and was well executed by the university, yet the article is full of disparaging commentary. The writer didn’t even do any fact checking. It costs $25 to join and yes, members can get access to the Harvard Club, as well as many other university clubs, via reciprocity. Typical NJ.com hatchet job.

Scarlet Jerry

That’s why you go here....

http://rutgersclub.rutgers.edu/

instead. ;)

 

[RUnTeX]

The snarky tone of the article is typical nj.com, and frankly, what we've come to expect from them on most Rutgers topics, unless strictly academic or rsesearch related. It would have been shocking had they taken the tact of talking up the facility to help drum up interest.

That said, this had slipped off my radar since the summer so thanks to TT for bumping the thread and linking this latest article. I might try to get over there sometime this fall or winter to check it out.

On a separate but somewhat related note, I swung through NB last Saturday morning before the Illinois game and parked at the end of College Avenue to walk around the corner to Scarlet Fever to buy a sweatshirt for my son. I noticed they had signs out adjacent to Van Nest Hall and along the sidewalk to direct folks to the new Alumni House that was recently built out on the first floor.

I would say it was nice although nothing that's likely to blow anyone away. There's a couple meeting rooms as well as a parlor which is handsomely decorated with furniture and memorabilia.

Not sure if it makes sense for the alumni house and the club to play off one another in any way. It appears they are run/managed independently and have different missions. But how does Rutgers as a large entity create strong awareness and communicate out to its community that these multiple options are available, while not diluting either facility?

 

[ScarletKid2008]

The snarky tone of the article is typical nj.com, and frankly, what we've come to expect from them on most Rutgers topics, unless strictly academic or rsesearch related. It would have been shocking had they taken the tact of talking up the facility to help drum up interest.

That said, this had slipped off my radar since the summer so thanks to TT for bumping the thread and linking this latest article. I might try to get over there sometime this fall or winter to check it out.

On a separate but somewhat related note, I swung through NB last Saturday morning before the Illinois game and parked at the end of College Avenue to walk around the corner to Scarlet Fever to buy a sweatshirt for my son. I noticed they had signs out adjacent to Van Nest Hall and along the sidewalk to direct folks to the new Alumni House that was recently built out on the first floor.

I would say it was nice although nothing that's likely to blow anyone away. There's a couple meeting rooms as well as a parlor which is handsomely decorated with furniture and memorabilia.

Not sure if it makes sense for the alumni house and the club to play off one another in any way. It appears they are run/managed independently and have different missions. But how does Rutgers as a large entity create strong awareness and communicate out to its community that these multiple options are available, while not diluting either facility?

I agree - a huge opportunity was missed to have the alumni house and Rutgers club co-located to create more of a "center" for alumni stops on campus. They would help raise awareness for one another. I was very aware of the alumni house but honestly the Rutgers club has done a poor job of being visible. I'm about as close to RU as it can get from alumni and social media perspective and I was completely unaware of the re-opening of Rutgers club until I came on this board.

 

[Scarlet Pride]

The snarky tone of the article is typical nj.com, and frankly, what we've come to expect from them on most Rutgers topics, unless strictly academic or rsesearch related. It would have been shocking had they taken the tact of talking up the facility to help drum up interest.

That said, this had slipped off my radar since the summer so thanks to TT for bumping the thread and linking this latest article. I might try to get over there sometime this fall or winter to check it out.

On a separate but somewhat related note, I swung through NB last Saturday morning before the Illinois game and parked at the end of College Avenue to walk around the corner to Scarlet Fever to buy a sweatshirt for my son. I noticed they had signs out adjacent to Van Nest Hall and along the sidewalk to direct folks to the new Alumni House that was recently built out on the first floor.

I would say it was nice although nothing that's likely to blow anyone away. There's a couple meeting rooms as well as a parlor which is handsomely decorated with furniture and memorabilia.

Not sure if it makes sense for the alumni house and the club to play off one another in any way. It appears they are run/managed independently and have different missions. But how does Rutgers as a large entity create strong awareness and communicate out to its community that these multiple options are available, while not diluting either facility?

I think the key is that as you said each have different missions. The Alumni House is a drop-in type place for alumni and more importantly a place for organized alumni groups to meet and perhaps even have small gatherings. The Rutgers Club is targeted at the broader Rutgers community - alumni, students, staff, faculty, and even others with a looser affiliation. The Club is essentially a restaurant/bar/catering venue and not an alumni relations tool (although it can be employed that way at times by the university and alumni groups). I don't see either diluting one or the other because they serve different roles and don't really compete at any level. I think, in that way, they actually complement one another.

 

[RUnTeX]

I'm inclined to believe the notion that they can be complementary, and only hope that they become so as they each get further established.

For example, in retrospect, the greeters at the alumni house could have made it a point to point out to me that the Rutgers Club might be worth checking out while I'm on campus.

I'm not sure lesser-engaged alumni will get a clear sense of what these two differing facilities offer and whether they will garner as much attention as their potential might afford. Hopefully marketing/awareness efforts will expand and that current students are well targeted which may help with keeping them coming back after graduation.

 

[ScarletKid2008]

I can see a very common scenario where alumni gather for a small meeting, or just drop by the campus and then get something to eat at the Rutgers club. That's why being next to each other makes too much sense. Nobody is going to drive 10 min in this scenario, so that's a lost opportunity. It would be pretty cool to say to friends - oh lets swing by the alumni area for a drink and catch up. Sure you can do that in the Rutgers club in itself, but whatever the alumni house is offering is then lost in this second scenario.

Its overall one of the negatives of RU being such a big place. Things are not conveniently next to each other which makes the experience confusing or not as convenient.

 

[e5fdny]

I think the key is that as you said each have different missions. The Alumni House is a drop-in type place for alumni and more importantly a place for organized alumni groups to meet and perhaps even have small gatherings. The Rutgers Club is targeted at the broader Rutgers community - alumni, students, staff, faculty, and even others with a looser affiliation. The Club is essentially a restaurant/bar/catering venue and not an alumni relations tool (although it can be employed that way at times by the university and alumni groups). I don't see either diluting one or the other because they serve different roles and don't really compete at any level. I think, in that way, they actually complement one another.

I’m with this line of thinking.

I like (because of our size and room - which I see as a positive here) we can have two of these.

 

[RC1978]

I am a member of the the Rutgers Club and it is very nice. I plan on being there a lot during the winter sports, before and or after Basketball or Wrestling. Nice and easy to grab something to eat and a drink or two. A few points, You can park off of Ave E, behind the dining hall. But, you need to register your license plate on Rutgers parking website.

 

[e5fdny]

I am a member of the the Rutgers Club and it is very nice. I plan on being there a lot during the winter sports, before and or after Basketball or Wrestling. Nice and easy to grab something to eat and a drink or two. A few points, You can park off of Ave E, behind the dining hall. But, you need to register your license plate on Rutgers parking website.

What’s the deal with pre and post game (for daytime) menus for Basketball?

 

[RC1978]

What’s the deal with pre and post game (for daytime) menus for Basketball?

Not sure but there is a bar menu:

https://slwordpress.rutgers.edu/rut...utgers-Club-Menu-Bar-Fall-2018-compressed.pdf

 

[SpotsRU]

I am a member of the the Rutgers Club and it is very nice. I plan on being there a lot during the winter sports, before and or after Basketball or Wrestling. Nice and easy to grab something to eat and a drink or two. A few points, You can park off of Ave E, behind the dining hall. But, you need to register your license plate on Rutgers parking website.

Can you get in? Last Fri and tonight they had private events there and it was closed. How do they expect people to use this if it’s constantly closed for games.

Kicker for me is I called on Monday and they told me they would be open Friday. They also have a sign printed listing men’s basketball games and date! Staff had no clue that was there and told me “I don’t know why that’s there.”

They should just covert it back to the faculty dining hall now.

 

[Leonard23]

For those that go, how is the food?