The Absinthe Pub and Coffeeshop, located in Winters College’s infamous room 013, is a much-loved part of York University. The Ab is the longest standing and only remaining student-owned, operated, and run pub on campus. As a result of the ongoing strike at York University and the lack of students on campus, the Ab has had to close its doors.

To everyone who has dressed up for an Ab Halloween, everyone who has cried over a break-up at the Ab, everyone who has celebrated an Intramural hockey win at the Ab, everyone who turned 19 and had their first legal drink at the Ab, everyone who has stood on the patio and sang songs at midnight even when it was snowing, the pub needs your help to raise enough money to open our doors again in the fall term.

If all of our fellow Ab Rats donate even the cost of a single pitcher and a plate of nachos, the Ab might have enough to survive.

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Usually, the Pub can make a minimum of $60,000 in a year in order to help survive the summer. However, due to the fact that the strike began March 5th, we have not been making nearly as much profit as we would usually have made in the month of March and April, being that we are loosing out on two out of five of our most profitable months (September, March, January, March, April) This means that as it stands, the Absinthe Pub will have to continue paying various costs. Some of these costs are as follows; auditing fees $6,000.00, monthly terminal (point of sale) costs, satellite TV subscriptions, monthly rent to York University, cleaning or carpets, upkeep of fridges, machinery, cost of phones, etc. All of these costs are roughly $15,000.00 due to the expensive nature of industrial kitchen/cooling units. The Ab also has to continue the upkeep of insurance, the cost of continuing to pay the manager, and all these costs are simply to survive the summer! As of now, the summer is going to be 6 months out of the year as opposed to our regular 4 months off. All of these costs do not yet include the costs of reopening, including purchasing of produce, purchasing bulks of alcohol and kegs, and the hardest hit, the first payroll upon opening; usually around $10,000.00. According to our estimates based on past years, $40,000.00 would allow the Pub to survive the summer and to reopen strongly in September.



If you are interested in a more in-depth conversation about the Absinthe Pub's finances and the breakdown of these costs, feel free to contact the members of the WINTAB Students Union (specifically Maddisyn Fisher, Liana Shaw, and Jessie Whyte), or the Absinthe Management Board - we would be more than happy to discuss the details with you.

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