On October 27, The Absinthe Pub and Coffeeshop (the Absinthe) at Winter’s College shared a GoFundMe link requesting donations to “Help Save the Ab.” During the pandemic, the Absinthe was reportedly closed for almost 550 days, and after reopening, it was still hindered by strict, province-wide restrictions.
On February 7, however, the Absinthe announced it would be closing its doors until further notice.
The Absinthe has been the longest standing and only student-owned and operated pub that remains on campus. The pub had previously requested donations back in 2018 due to the strike that was taking place at the time, where the pub was successful in keeping business afloat despite the setback.
According to Emmie Ngsee, who was previously the assistant manager at the Absinthe, the pub’s history goes as far back as the 1970s when it was known as the Greenbush Inn. Since then, it has been a hub for numerous Winters College and York events, as well as a place for students to study during the day and socialize during the later hours.
Ngsee had been a regular at the pub during their years as a York design undergrad where they, along with many others, considered it a home. Ngsee joined the staff in 2019 and helped manager Ian Pedley behind the scenes to get the pub COVID-19 ready. By September 2021, they were ready to open up.
The reopening was troublesome as restrictions at the time created several roadblocks. Ngsee noted that a recurring joke was that the Absinthe was held together by “duct tape and sheer force of will.”
Despite the pub’s closure, President Ola Mularczyk of the Winters College Council (WCC) expresses hope that the Absinthe will be able to “reopen its doors in September of 2022.”
Mularczyk acknowledged that there had been some disappointed reactions to the closing of the Absinthe, but maintains that this was the only feasible option for the WCC, who are responsible for running the pub and were forced to make the ultimate decision to close it down for the remainder of the year.
While Ngsee is also hopeful of the Absinthe’s eventual reopening, their confidence is limited, saying that the odds may not be in their favour. “The Absinthe is a money pit at the end of the day, and while it is a piece of York’s student culture, it’s not a cheap place to keep open.”
Ngsee was also willing to share a fond memory from her time working at the pub. “One of my favourites was the last night we were open before the pandemic hit. It was a really bittersweet night because we were all saying our goodbyes. I don’t think any of us expected to be gone for so long, but it was a night of tears and laughter and the loudest rendition of “Home For A Rest” (by Spirit of the West) I’ve ever heard in my life.”
Numerous other college pubs have closed in years past prior to the Absinthe, from Vanier to Founders according to Ngsee, who remarked that the pub itself has been “like a rat that you just can’t kill.”
For many ‘Ab rats,’ the closing of the Absinthe will hopefully be a temporary solution.
