A cafeteria by day, bar by night. The campus pub made its debut Tuesday night. The newest bar in the Saint Louis University neighborhood is here on campus.

The Billiken Club, located in the basement of Busch Memorial Center, opened its doors Tuesday afternoon for the first of a five-day trial run. Approximately 150 people attended opening night, marked with the musical entertainment of two SLU bands.

Wednesday evening saw a smaller crowd than it did on opening night. The pub faces competition from established area bars such as Humphrey’s, Laclede Street and Bullfeathers.

Those who were at the pub on Wednesday evening, though, enjoyed the club and planned on spending more time there.

“I think it’s an excellent idea,” said Charlie Schwartz, a senior majoring in finance. “It’s about time. I think it’s a great way to get SLU to be a more social campus. I think it shows SGA is bringing students together.”

Sophomore Elise LaBarge agreed.

“I thought it was a good idea to have a place where people can get together and relax,” LaBarge said.

Pub patrons included Student Government Association President Jay Perry and several SGA senators. The pub provided a relaxing atmosphere after the SGA meeting Wednesday afternoon.

“[Tuesday] night was a good opening,” Perry said. “We’re trying to find ways to keep people here.”

Perry mentioned several ideas that had come up.

“Student/faculty night, event night … you need something, to make people interested,” Perry said.

The Billiken Club already has some bar staples. There is a pool table and two electronic dart boards. Off in one corner is a jukebox loaded with recent pop-hits, classic rock and a dash of western jukebox classics. There are televisions in almost every direction, and there is even a baby grand piano hidden on the side.

The only major physical change SLU has made to the club is the addition of a portable bar along one wall and a small wooden dance floor.

Some students did express reservations concerning the actual location of the new bar.

“The basement of BMC is too spread out,” LaBarge said. “It’s not the intimate atmosphere that I think of for a pub. I felt like I was in a banquet hall.”

LaBarge suggested that the administration might consider sectioning off the very large space that the Billiken Club occupies. The club would do better, suggested Labarge, if they walled off the area containing the pool table and dartboards. The smaller space would allow for the more intimate atmosphere that is associated with pubs.

“I think it’s a great idea,” LaBarge said. “But I think it takes more than setting up a few tables.”

Senior Ray Baquiram added another opinion.

“It would be good if they were to add SLU bands, SLU DJ’s, etc.,” Baquiram said.

Even though the physical setting of the place has not changed to a great degree, the addition of the bar to provide some form of drink service in the club makes a difference.

“When you go to other campuses, you see this kind of thing,” Schwartz said. “It’s good to see we have gotten to this point. It adds to the atmosphere.”

Schwartz also added that it gives commuter students and students who live on campus a place to get together and get to know each other, outside of the classroom.

The idea for the pub originally came from SGA commuter senator Rich Bergin, who serves on the Student Advisory Board.

“They were looking for ideas and I said, `Pub on campus!’ just jokingly,” Bergin said.

“And [Kathy Humphrey, Interim Vice Provostt for Student Development] latched on to it,” Perry said. “Kathy Humphrey has been involved with this from the beginning.”

“The BMC was made for student involvement,” Schwartz said. “This is a great way to foster it. I think it’s nothing but positive.”