The Cellar provides entertainment on Wednesday nights

Students gathered with friends in The Cellar this past Wednesday night to eat food and drink beer and wine, something that has become a trend in the past few years.

"The Wednesday night trend is into its fourth year now, I think," Beverly Binns, senior operations manager of The Cellar, said.

Going back at least five years, Thursday was the busiest night at The Cellar because of the two particular bartenders who worked there, Binns said.

Then, the two bartenders moved on and some of the bars in the area started doing "specials" on Thursday nights, and The Cellar's night switched to Wednesday, she said.

"The atmosphere is great, the food is good, there is a great variety of beers and guests are being taken care of by their peers," Binns said. "The management has a young attitude and wants to make the job and experience fun and positive for all."

Senior Connor O'Leary said he often goes to The Cellar on Wednesdays. O'Leary thinks that this night is fun because it is a constant group of people that attends, though he wishes they had more beer options, he said.

"It's pretty much like getting free beer since we get to use Spider Dollars," O'Leary said. "The bartenders are nice and the service is fast."

Chris Bahlo, a junior who works at The Cellar, said that Wednesday nights at the Cellar are noticeably more packed with students than other weeknights are.

"In regards to campus nightlife, going to The Cellar is the main thing for students to do on Wednesday nights," he said.

Wednesdays at The Cellar tend to be more of a drinking scene than other nights because there is usually not much else going on around campus, Natasha Berg, a senior, said. It is fun for those students who are 21, she said.

"It's good to know that there's a place on campus where you can grab a beer with your friends," Berg said. "No one has to plan on driving."

As the craft beer business has expanded over the last few years, The Cellar has done the same in making many of those choices available, Binns said. The Cellar has also taken requests and has done surveys to see what the students want, she said.

"In following with the university's commitment to sustainability, we also do our best to buy local when available," Binns said.

Contact reporter Brooke Knetzger at brooke.knetzger@richmond.edu