The local favorite enters its Senior Year on The Ave

If we were to assign senior superlatives to the bars on The Ave, the College Inn Pub would probably win Most Likely to be Grandpa, or Most Likely to Age like a Fine Wine - in the best way possible. 

Catching a case of Senioritis?  You’re not the only one. As spooky season comes to an end, and we begin to enter colder days, consider popping in to the College Inn Pub. The bustling basement pub is set to celebrate its ’senior’ year on The Ave - but its legacy is sure to go down in local history. 

“We're having a 50th birthday party of the Pub being legal, i.e., the first business license on record.” says Jen Gonyer, owner of the College Inn Pub, or as locals know it - simply ‘the Pub’. 

Owners Jen Gonyer and Al Donohue have sent out a press release that served as their “graduation announcement”: After four years of running the half-century-old basement watering hole, they were moving on. If no one buys the pub, its last day of service will be June 15, 2025. 

History of the Pub

Styled after the basement pubs at the University of Cambridge, the College Inn Pub is an institution of The Ave. The last Tudor style building of campus, it has Historic Landmark status.

“It’s also one of the last buildings still standing not on the UW campus that was purpose built for the Alaska Yukon Pacific Expo.” says Jen. 

It’s equally been preserved in the University neighborhood's hearts, with many patrons religiously attending events like the Tuesday Trivia. Veterans of the Tuesday Trivia have even gone on to the Silver Screen, with local champion Martha Bath making it to Jeopardy last year. 

The pub holds patrons from grad students, professors to students alike, and it’s become an essential post work drink spot. 

“It’ll probably just be a really good memory. When things get old, people just remember the good.” says Jared, former grad student. 

“We like to call the Pub 'the UW's living room with beer.' All are welcome and we have seen all sorts of parties, events, and fundraisers. We also sponsor the Seattle Sockeyes, a team in the Emerald City LGBTQIA+ Softball Assoc. We love our Sockeyes.” says Jen. 

The pub isn’t just a place to drink, though. Many students use the space to get work done, and you can likely spot a student or two studying in the back room late into the night. “What’s homework without a homework beer!” says Thomas, a local student. 

The Inn brings in locals and travelers alike. Past intern Daniel Lines at the Applied Physics Lab, says it brought him a sense of community. “I love to go here to play darts with my friends,” he says. 

It’s one of the only places on The Ave with a real dart board. Local grad student Nick says that makes it home for him, “Free darts and the occasional trivia with my friends.” he says. 

The pub even hosts its own ghost. Howard Bok, legend says, was a sailor who stopped in Seattle and stayed at the College Inn. He was murdered in the building many years ago, Wilson said, and his ghost inhabited the basement of the building well in advance of the Pub's business establishment there in 1974. 

The myth surrounding Howard's ghost is that he abides in the Snug Room (the small back room of the pub) and his spirit can be felt especially strongly after hours. Howard has even been rumored to play the piano that sits in the Snug Room.

Jenn says there’s even a couple versions of the Howard lore. “There are at least three different entities down there, and two of them are VERY active. We call them all 'Howard' to keep the tradition going, but the activity is very real.” 

“That Snug piano died in a flood from the street back in the 2010s at some point, so there is no more piano. Now they do things like move our stuff around (especially my keys to the floor behind the toilet in the last stall of the women's room), knock pans off the shelves in the kitchen, and generally make freaky noises and moans. Some of us hear/see/witness the activities regularly, but at least three people claim to have never seen anything and don't believe it.” she says. 

Besides a local spooky spot to remember the dead, the Pub is the perfect spot to celebrate the living. “Since we reopened July 2021, we have had two weddings at the Pub and unfortunately two memorials. It is a place for marking the cycle of life.” says Jen. 

So as the pub enters its final year, what are some of the stories that will go down in history? 

“It really hasn’t changed at all. That’s why I came back here. This used to be the spot the actors came from. It’s all a blur. The best blur that ever blurred.” says Mark, the bartender.

“We’d come here before class, after class. We’d even have class in the back. The poetry class was sometimes in the Snug Room.” says Jared, a former grad student. 

Look familiar? 

Oh Captain My Captain!

While not exactly the same quotes ring in this beloved basement, the Snug Room eerily resembles the famous film. Jared says he would read his verses to the class, while his peers enjoyed a pint. The best part? His professor paid for it. “Rick Kenny, he would pay for everyone’s drink.” says Derek, a former grad student. 

While the Pub has changed over time, the best memories are still on display. “The white ceiling isn’t brown anymore. I was a grad student at the time. We carved the booths with clever things.” says Derek. 

The Pub has since renovated these tables, but photos in the back lovingly frame the old carvings.  

“We were told we had to cover the old tables in glass or something when we reopened in COVID times -- remember showing your vax card to get in anywhere? -- which was cost prohibitive. We wanted to hang all of the original table tops on the walls, but they are all very heavy and there weren't enough studs in the walls.” says Jen. 

“That is the original 'Keg booth' table, and we chose that one to hang because there are a number of science departments that have a tradition of taking their newly minted PhDs to that booth, getting them drunk, and having them carve their names. The tradition lives on, and we have found that the steel-tipped darts work great for the new PhDs to leave their mark.” 

“I lost my youth there. In a good way. It was a good gnarly hangout.” says Thom Lewis, UW alum.

“Not a lot of places that feel like an English pub. I’ve been to England. In the old days, from the 90s. It does remind me of that.” says Lewis 

The pub is also a local favorite for periodical gatherings. “Every Friday I come philosophize.” says Kyle, future Doctor of Philosophy. His crew of Psychology and Neuroscience PhD students come to ‘nerd out’ to some good old fashioned Quizlet every week. 

Where will the university's grad students flock to instead? 

There are many local watering holes on The Ave that are patroned by grad students and undergrads alike (those of age of course). 

Some recognizable names are Big-Time Brewery, Blue Moon Tavern, Finn MacCools, and Schultzy’s. These pubs have their own individual nights of celebration as well. Big-Time Brewery hosts chess nights on Tuesdays from 6 to 11, while Blue Moon Tavern hosts a legendary open mic on Thursdays. 

What’s next for the future of the pub? 

The Pub’s legacy is sure not to be lost to history in the hearts of its storied patrons, but Jen’s taking steps to ensure that the whole community has access to that history. 

“When we close next June, I'm giving that tabletop to a science department who promises to make it accessible to the other science departments to continue the tradition.” she says. 

“Graduation day" for the Pub will be June 15, the day after UW commencement (and we will still have one last Commencement breakfast on June 14 for graduates). 

“We URGE everyone to come back as often as they can to celebrate the Pub while it is still with us. Seriously. People need to take this seriously.” says Jen. 

For more info on that follow the bar on Instagram. The full announcement of the owners’ plan to sell can be found here.