Cheers!
Midwest Jesuit college alums (and a famous high school alum) look back on the quintessential hangouts
By Anna Cate Meis
John Carroll University students gathered at The Rathskeller, aka “The Rat” bar, in the 1980s, and signs from many of the most popular Midwest Jesuit college hangouts.
John Carroll University yearbook photo courtesy of Mary Power Patton
Anna Cate Meis is the Midwest Province Assistant Director for Marketing & Events. She graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 2023.
Returning to your favorite college bar after you’ve graduated can be a bit dicey. The place is familiar and comfortable, sure, but it might also be a bit more damp and crowded than you remember. I did this recently and was instantly pulled back to my blissfully unconcerned college days.
It got me wondering about the quintessential hangouts at all six Midwest Jesuit universities—from Cleveland, Detroit and Cincinnati in the east, to Chicago, Milwaukee and Omaha in the west. I was interested in the “third spaces,” away from campus buildings, away from dorms and apartments, where students have met for decades to blow off steam and share the fellowship of college.
While Loyola University Chicago (LUC) alumni of a certain age will look back fondly on Hamilton’s, the place my classmates and I frequented was The Oasis, more lovingly known as “The O.” Christina Sweiss (’23) spent almost every Thursday of her college career basking in “The O’s” glittering fluorescent lights and engaging in muffled conversation between karaoke performances.
“Going to ‘The O’ was something I was always able to look forward to,” Sweiss says. “For me, it was a place to spend time with my Loyola community and make great memories with the people I love.”
John Wrenn (’86), who owns The Lakefront Restaurant at Theater on the Lake, and Lizzie McNeill’s Irish Pub, both in Chicago, recalls many late-night Thursdays at Hamilton’s with his buddies. “Back in the day, you’d even see a few Northwestern [University] students there—Ramblers and Wildcats co-existing peacefully under one roof,” he says.
At Marquette University (MU) in Milwaukee, Marissa Provenzale (’23) cites the “no-frills” atmosphere at both Murphy’s Irish Pub and Caffrey’s Pub, the two spots current Golden Eagles flock to on weekends, Wednesdays (karaoke at Murphy’s) and Thursdays (Mug Night at Caffrey’s).
But who could forget The Avalanche, Marquette’s go-to spot in the ’80s and ’90s? Well, some people could. Matt Ruder (’94), owner of The Pearl Club in Chicago, will never forget it. He says “The ’lanche” was a place where “generations of Marquette University students came of age,” and from other stories I’ve heard, that sounds about right. At Creighton University (CU) in Omaha, my mother, Cynthia Meis (‘93), and my uncle, John Thomas (CU ’92), spent their leisure time at The Blue Jay, which closed in 2017. Even before that, the spot was Nuncio’s, according to Tom Brabec (’77). While older regulars sat at the bar, students played foosball and pinball. Some nights there was live music. It was Brabec’s late sister Carol’s class of 1978 that made the transition to the recently opened Blue Jay. These days students spend Thursday nights at The Dubliner, aka “The Dub,” listening to the sweet tunes of Chris Shelton.
“‘The Dub’ is special because it’s a chance for all grade levels to come together and form relationships,” says my cousin Caitlyn Thomas (’24). “As a freshman you don’t really have the opportunity to meet upperclassmen until sorority/fraternity recruitment, so it’s a great way to see how Creighton has impacted them.”
MA’S, WHERE EVERYBODY KNEW HIS NAME
Years before George Wendt assumed the role of the bar-dwelling Norm Peterson on the sitcom Cheers, he and his Campion Jesuit High School classmates spent their leisure hours at Ma’s, a burger joint just across the tracks from campus in Prairie du Chien, Wis.
The leisure hours were limited, and so were the options. Campion boys were not allowed to venture into downtown “Prairie,” as they referred to town, but from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. on both Wednesdays and Saturdays, they could walk to Ma’s, or the bowling alley down the street.
“We played hearts and bridge, and ate burgers,” Wendt says. “On campus, all there was to do was play basketball. There was literally nothing else to do. I mean, you could have studied. You could have gone to the library. That was not my lane.”
Wendt graduated from a Jesuit university, too—Rockhurst University in Kansas City— where his life imitated his eventual art. He became so familiar and welcomed at Mike’s Tavern, they extended him a line of credit.
“It was my very first bar tab, and my only one except for Cheers,” he says. “Imagine that—a college senior with a bar across the road? And you didn’t have to come up with cash? That’s the greatest.”
— Michael Austin
The same can be said for the definitive hangout at Xavier University (XU) in Cincinnati. Dana Gardens—Dana’s, for short—occupies a former firehouse dating back to 1888. While the Delany family first opened it as a bar in 1935, when three young Xavier grads re-opened it in 1996, the place fully stepped into its role as a second home to Musketeers and the Norwood community.
Owners Robby DasVarma (‘93), Bill Keehn (‘94), BJ Hayley (‘94) and BJ’s father, Carl, will tell you that the walls at Dana’s can’t talk but they can definitely be read. Thousands of the bar’s fans have scrawled names and messages on them through the years. The order of choice? The Hershel, named for the legendary bartender who invented it. Be careful—they’re potent.
At John Carroll University (JCU) in University Heights, Ohio, the go-to spot in the ’70s and ’80s was The Rathskeller, aka “The Rat” bar, an on-campus bar run by the student union. Tucked in next to the dining hall, underneath Saint Francis Chapel, the space is home to The Underground piano lounge today.
Current Blue Streaks go to O’Rielly’s Pub and Grill. Owned by Joe Vaughn and his son, Joe Vaughn Jr., O’Rielly’s is where you’ll see JCU students enjoying a drink with everyday residents of University Heights.
At University of Detroit Mercy (UDM), John “Cal” Freeman (’02) and his Titan classmates frequented both the Tropical Hut Lounge and Woodward Avenue Brewers. While the Tropical Hut is no longer open, Woodward Avenue Brewers, aka “The WAB,” is going strong.
Freeman still remembers the ear-opening music he first heard at his college haunts, and how he used to pick the brains of his professors there, in settings outside the classroom. Most fondly, he remembers time spent with his then-girlfriend/now wife Sarah Pazur (’02), and how they would sit and read poetry together over a few drinks. For Freeman and many others, what went on at their campus hangouts is just as important as what came out of them—lifelong relationships and lasting memories.
IN THIS ISSUE
Photo: This painting of Pope Francis was created by Cincinnati artist Holly Schapker (www.hollyschapker.com), a 1992 graduate of Xavier University.