Cheater’s ‘reopens’ doors across from the Village

Laclede Street Bar and Grill, located on Laclede Street across from the Student Village Apartments, has a new name, new management and new atmosphere. After a change in management, the establishment has been renamed Cheater’s Sports Grill and Ultrapub.

Director of Operations for Cheater’s Matt Ratz managed Laclede’s throughout the month of June and worked with a team to evaluate the venue and begin the renaming and remodeling process.

“Our evaluation led us to remodel and change the name and give us a fresh outlook so we could bring in revenue during lunch, happy hour and at night,” Ratz said.

Ratz said that one of the areas of focus while developing Cheater’s was to upgrade the food menu and emphasize offerings aside from the night-life. The management team hired a restaurant consultant to come in and design the menu.

“We want to be known as a restaurant and sports bar first and a bar and lounge second,” said Ratz.

Aside from the new food selection, the interior boasts new amenities such as couches, beer pong tables, 21 flat screen televisions, a new DJ booth and a new sound system.

At Lacelde’s, patrons were limited to the bar area, dance floor and booths in the back area of the venue, but in the redesigned Cheater’s, guests can retreat to the back and watch sporting events on leather couches.

“We wanted it to be a “man-cave” basement type area where you can watch sports and play beer pong. We wanted that casual English pub feel,” Ratz said.

Cheater’s has not been without its critics, however. The logo for the venue spells the word “CheA+er’s” on a blackboard, possibly suggesting academic dishonesty.

“The name is in poor taste. It is a poke at the University and our mission, and I hope it does not indicate the relationship we will have with the establishment,” Kent Porterfield, Vice President of Student Development, said.

Ratz, however, insists that Cheater’s does not condone academic dishonesty and that the name is simply a play on words.

“We did not mean to be disrespectful in any way whatsoever. We respect SLU. We are their neighbor and want to be a great neighbor. It is a play on words. We just have an “A-plus” in our name because we are on a campus,” Ratz said. “We do not in any way condone academic cheating.”

Cheater’s also hopes to become actively involved with SLU athletics and is developing plans to so.

“We have been talking to Chaifetz [Arena] for advertisements and maybe doing a shuttle to basketball games,” Ratz said.

Opinions on Cheater’s from the SLU student body have been mixed. Some students, such as junior Physical Therapy student Caitlin Gahart, welcome the change.

“I think they have done a good job of cleaning it up, but it is still Laclede’s with some frosted windows, a few leather couches and some plaid thrown in,” Gahart said. “Do not get me wrong, we all love Laclede’s or Cheater’s. It is our form of ‘Cheers.’”

Elizabeth Rogers, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, thinks that the name sends across a negative message.

“The name of Cheater’s is Laclede’s, and until all who know Laclede’s are gone, then it will always be known as Laclede’s. Cheater’s sounds trashy and sends the wrong vibe,” Rogers said.

For The Department of Public Safety and Security Services (DPSS), the expectations for Cheaters are the same for the rest of the bars in the area. To help combat underage and public drinking, DPSSS is teaming with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department on Fridays and Saturdays to enforce alcohol violations. The heightened police presence will continue for the first few weekends of the school and periodically throughout the year.

“In respect to this establishment, we have the same expectations for it that we do for all of the bars that surround our campus. Namely, that they will adhere to the law, especially as it pertains to the sale of alcohol to minors,” Assistant Vice President of Public Safety and Security Services Roland Corvington said.