Despite renovations including a patio, pool tables and new seating, The Spoke has brought lower than expected numbers in the University Students’ Council’s first quarterly budget.

The student tavern, which has been in existence since 1969, caters to students and staff at Western. The reinstitution of The Spoke’s liquor license for the lounge was meant to motivate students to utilize the lounge.

Sacha Kumar, USC vice-president finance, was not worried about The Spoke being behind budget. “It was a bit behind budget expectations, but that’s because when the budget was created last year, we didn’t anticipate it being shut down at all,” Kumar noted.

The unexpected renovation was therefore not reflected in the proposed budget.

“We made [renovations] an immediate priority of ours,” Kumar said. “[The board] couldn’t have anticipated that.”

Jeff Armour, USC food and beverage manager, noted that by taking into account a change in The Spoke and Wave’s business models, along with the notion of nightly academic programming, the opening of The Spoke would have drastic affects on the first quarterly budget.

Concerns have been raised over the newly licensed Spoke patio and its lack of use over the winter months. While the patio was a major feature of the renovations, its opening in late September has dissuaded some students to make use of it.

“I haven’t used the patio, but I also haven’t wanted to,” Bill Atyeo, a third-year nursing student said. He cited bad weather as one of his reasons for n reasons for not using it.

Kumar regretted the late opening, but was optimistic about the patio’s success for the future.

“Ideally we would have liked to have the patio ready to go for mid to early September, but we still got it done,” Kumar said. “It’s fully licensed and should be ready to go when the winter is done.”

Armour reiterated while the patio may not have immediate success, it is a long-term investment for the university.

“[The patio] is a nice, joint collaborative effort between [the USC and UWO],” Armour said. “The weather isn’t great, but that’s OK. The patio will be there [years from now] and overall it will be a great facility.”

Other potential cost factors include payment for increased security, although Kumar noted these costs were minimal.

“There were slight increases in labour costs, but that was fully anticipated and fully expected,” Kumar said, reiterating this would not have been in the budget projection last year, as it was a result of renovation costs.

Increased security has been implemented as a means of making sure no outside beverages are brought into The Spoke — a newly instigated rule that has caused a bit of student frustration.

“It’s definitely an inconvenience,” Atyeo said. “If I want to grab a bite from The Spoke, I can’t bring in my Tim Horton’s cup.”

However, this rule is set out by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and as such is not up for discussion.

“There may be an initial resistance, but as people learn, they will adapt,” Armour said, also adding there is USC liaison educating people at the front door.

Despite policy changes and unpleasant weather, both Armour and Kumar maintained they are seeing the growing popularity of The Spoke.

“I think we’re going to see major improvements,” Armour emphasized. “Both venues are busy.”

The Grad Club manager, Marc Lalonde, noted The Spoke’s renovations have not had an effect on their business, most likely because of a different target audience.

“We have very little undergrad business,” Lalonde said. “It doesn’t affect us.”

“Ideally we will have a really strong Q2, so we’re communicating to the managers to keep their costs low and really push their services to the students,” Kumar said. “Hopefully we will see an increase in spending habits, but only time will tell.”