The Pub at SFSU permanently closes

The Pub at San Francisco State University, a place students remember for its social environment and food and drink options, has officially closed after 25 years of service, according to an announcement posted on its doors. 

Chris Farmer, the director of operations for The University Corporation at SFSU, said that slow business has been a trend across campus since the university closure during the pandemic.

“The pub, being one of the services we oversee, has unfortunately gotten extremely slow in recent semesters,” Farmer said. “More and more each semester to the point where the business owner couldn’t operate anymore.”

While the partnership between UCorp and the pub owner still remains uncertain, Farmer said UCorp will do everything it can to fill the space. 

Associated Students President Brandon Foley said it’s disappointing when a small business on campus closes and is unsure what will replace the pub. 

“It did have a really good atmosphere to sit and talk with friends,” Foley said. “Some of my friends love going there. I wish it was still here.” 

Every Tuesday, the pub would hold Tecate Tuesdays, which would bring in large crowds of students for discounted Tecate beer. The pub also had TV screens playing football games and mix-and-match beer flights for $15 to $19.

The possibility that another bar or pub could open up to replace The Pub at SFSU is not out of the question, but it will depend on UCorp to “figure out the best deal,” Foley said.

Gonzalo Martin, a mechanical engineering student, had good memories at the pub, particularly when going after finals. 

“It’s really nice to have a quick spot to meet up with friends and just kind of lay back,” Martin said. “A lot of good memories. It’d be pretty sad to see, to see it go, for sure.”

Finance student Kiril Gupta also had fond memories at the pub.

“When I turned 21 last school year, I was able to start drinking there, and that’s where I got to know more of [the owner] and got to know him better as a person,” Gupta said. “It’s rough. It’s a very unfortunate thing to happen.”

The Pub at SFSU also served food like fish and chips, french fries, garlic fries, beer-battered onion rings, mozzarella sticks and chicken tenders, all priced between $6.99 to $11.99. 

“I do remember my second year before I was legally enough to drink, I would go inside there and get the food because the pub had really good fish and chips and had really good chicken tenders,” Gupta said. 

Psychology student Arvind Mohanraj said that despite the pub’s closure, there are still other places on campus to explore. 

“You got the game room downstairs, you got more rooms to go upstairs,” Mohanraj said. “The pub doesn’t signify every student here. There’s more to do on campus than just that.”

Golden Gate Xpress has reached out to the Pub at SFSU for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.