Phoenix Ballroom and Finnegan’s Pub
An adjoining pub and restaurant, Phoenix Ballroom and Finnegan’s Pub were once located in what is now UFV’s Building K. Owned by the Esposito family — Paul Esposito Sr. specifically — the space first opened at Kings Crossing in 1983, but had to be rebuilt after burning down in 2005. After reopening in 2009, the Espositos eventually sold the property to UFV for just under $10 million in 2018. Esposito’s son, Paul Esposito Jr, reflected on his family’s decision to sell in an article by UFV Giving.
“It is an important life lesson that when your passion for something begins to fade it is best to move into a new direction.
Having originally entered the hospitality industry to better our community, it brings great comfort that UFV bought the property and it will continue to be used to positively contribute to our community.”
From Casey’s to AfterMath
Previously located in Building E, which is now home to the Athletics and Campus Recreation department, AfterMath echoed with student camaraderie. The closure of the campus pub in 2016 didn’t just take away a place to grab a drink, but a hub to build community.
Before it became AfterMath in 2011, the pub went by Casey’s on Campus and operated typically between 10:30 a.m. until 10:30 p.m. As the former President of the Computing Student Association (CSA), Derek Froese, explained, Casey’s was a place where students could feel at home on campus. Since there was no Student Union Building (SUB) at the time, Casey’s provided a gathering space for students to hangout with their peers and build networks outside of their classrooms.
“People were social, [and] the environment was really cool. There was cool stuff on the walls, the students were working there, it had comfortable seats, and there was power everywhere for laptops. It was really set up well as a place where you could hang out.”
According to CIVL campus radio station Manager Aaron Levy, AfterMath was more than a campus pub, it was a space where students had the opportunity to stay back after their classes and have a good time. It also acted as a free bookable space for clubs and associations.
“It encouraged students to communicate, share, [and] study on campus in a friendly, fun, presumably safe environment.”
Levy shared that for nearly a decade, Casey’s supported the national arts community by being a host to hundreds of concerts by CIVL as they invited talent from all across Canada to perform. The pub witnessed a myriad of open mic nights, student run events, drag shows, and club nights on weekends.
“We had a band from Cuba … We’ve had Juno award winners, the people who [the] Canadian entertainment industry has awarded with the best records in their genre, the best albums in their genre that year from local artists, and also up-and-coming young artists.”
Before David Eby became premier, he gave a presentation at Casey’s about how his legislation would improve student life. Levy recalled how Casey’s further brought UFV into the national limelight for its scaling music events.
“We were so frequently using Casey’s on Campus that in 2013, the CBC had a campaign and a contest for individuals to vote on what campus was the best campus for music in Canada, and UFV was in third place … So I was interviewed for that on CBC and it was very exciting to me. And that was made possible because of the Casey’s on Campus space and because of the students who volunteered there.”
It all comes down to money
Despite adding value to student life, in 2012, AfterMath was facing severe financial constraints and there was a constant decline in the Student Union Society’s (SUS) financial reserves. The student employees even offered to have their hourly salary forfeited to help the campus pub survive until SUS’s general meeting at the end of November, but the plan was never implemented.
According to an article from The Cascade from early 2013, the SUS Board in 2005-2006 had formed a capital fund which generated income for SUS, through investment. According to Shane Potter the interim SUS president in 2012, nearly $300,000 from this fund had been depleted since 2009, with just over $15,000 left in November 2012. The money was used to cover any budget overages including AfterMath.
As SUS’ then bookkeeper, Darlene Turnbull, explained in the 2013 article, the SUS Board also had to take money from the student Health and Dental reserve to keep the pub going, leading to a domino effect.
“We got to the point where we had to pay the Health and Dental [costs] and we didn’t have this money … We ended up going back and ended up finding out that money had been taken out of there.”
According to the article, Froese presented a multi-sectioned motion to save the pub. The motion relocated about $40,000 from a number of SUS’ budgets including events, retreats, cell-phone allowances, conference funds, accessibility funds, and board members’ honoraria to fund AfterMath till the end of fiscal year in 2013. Froese’s motion passed with 47 for and 18 opposed.
This worked for a while, but AfterMath eventually encountered financial difficulties again. According to Associate Vice President Kyle Baillie, the building itself started facing issues which included the ventilation system and fryers coming to the end of their lives. All in all making it too costly for SUS to run AfterMath, leading them to discontinue their lease in 2016.
“There [were] some kind of facilities slash infrastructure issues, and then on top of that, there comes cost, right? Replacing a ventilation system is really expensive these days and those days. So there was a combination of issues that led to a decision made by SUS whether or not they wanted to continue that.”
Remembering AfterMath
With the shutdown came the loss of opportunities for student growth and learning. The pub had allowed student executives and volunteers to have hands-on experience in running a business — teaching them everything from budgeting to coordinating events. Levy shared that student employees were able to find new work partly because of the skills they acquired from working at AfterMath.
“Many of the students who worked there ended up becoming Cascade editors, staff members with local arts organizations and events, and CIVL because of their engagement and their work through Casey’s on Campus and their connection with [CIVL]. So there’s many different ways that it was incredibly valuable.”
Levy further explained that the radio station lost a consistent venue for its events and had to resort to 20 different alternatives across Abbotsford and Fraser Valley, making events more difficult to promote and costly.
“It’s really been difficult for our members and our volunteers and our students who are involved in local music … After Casey’s On Campus went away … we did a couple hundred at my home in between 2016 and the pandemic in order to fill the gap of not having a campus pub. [But] that was immense stress and responsibility, obligation and conflict on me … [so] that’s just not something I can take on anymore.”
Froese remembers AfterMath as more than just a pub. When comparing AfterMath to UFV’s cafeteria, he claimed that AfterMath offered a stronger sense of belonging.
“You want to have a bit more comfort [to] relax. [The cafeteria] wasn’t a place that was designed for connection or community, it was a place that was designed to give you somewhere to eat and then leave, and maybe open your books and do a little bit of work … but it just didn’t facilitate human connection.”
He acknowledged that despite not being highly profitable, the gains it offered were more valuable than the lost money.
“AfterMath, from a business perspective, was technically losing money … but I always thought the investment was well worth it and the gains that were had in community and culture were worth much more than the small investment that the student union was making to keep it going.”
As per Froese, there isn’t anything on campus that has the vibe that AfterMath did.
“SUB is good but people sit there and work by themselves. They’re not talking to each other, they’re not connecting, the restaurant there [seemed] all right but people aren’t connecting with new friends and across tables.”
Should students have a nightlife?
Nightlife can have a complex dynamic in a student’s life. It can be exciting and glamorous, but can also come with its own share of challenges. While it could lead to distractions and drift focus away from academics, it also helps students to engage with each other, build connections, and foster a community beyond classrooms. Often, concerns about the risks of alcohol consumption arise in conversations about nightlife. According to criminologist and Associate Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Wade Deisman, creating a culture of safety is important for pubs and bars to have a beneficial effect and not be dangerous. He shared taking precautions, such as having a buddy whenever you go out so you have someone looking out for you and vice-versa.
“If communities respond collectively, and individuals are empowered with things like safe drinking tips, the buddy system — then you get people in much less risky positions.”
Deisman also feels there is a lack of community ambition, sharing that he has seen students struggle to find a sense of belonging and make connections.
“There’s a kind of anomie, or normlessness. Icebreakers don’t melt the ice.”
In contrast, a lack of nightlife can have its fair share of benefits when it comes to risk management, especially when it comes to drinking-related problems. According to Cactus Club Cafe Manager Jordan Reimer, the restaurant usually experiences fewer guest-related issues with Abbotsford’s less prominent nightlife.
“A typical example: If someone has had too much to drink and we cut them off, they might get frustrated or confrontational. 95 per cent of guest incidents happen between 9 p.m. and midnight. So in a way, lower late-night traffic has reduced those risks.”
According to Sociology Professor Dr. Hassan Javid, how nightclubs are regulated matters more than their mere existence.
“You might argue that having too crazy [of a] nightlife can lead to associated problems involving crime, drugs and assault, But again, that’s more an issue about policing and regulation than it is about the absence or presence of nightclubs.”
Along the same lines, School of Culture, Media, and Society Professor Dr. Satwinder Kaur Bains believes that while maintaining a vibrant nightlife can come with challenges, it’s better to foster local engagement than send community members outside of Abbotsford to enjoy a night out — especially since incidents still have the potential to happen elsewhere.
“They’re gonna go somewhere else to go find it. So why not keep the money in Abbotsford and keep our communities in Abbotsford? Keep our children in Abbotsford, keep our young people in Abbotsford and make [it] an attractive city to come to as well.”
Beyond these, a campus pub provides space for important conversations. Levy believes that when students gather outside their classrooms, it helps spark creative ideas which can lead to meaningful change.
“If students gather and communicate and congregate at a communal place on campus, that will lead to students sharing information and wanting to … make change on campus.”
Nightlife as an industry
Beyond UFV’s campus, Abbotsford’s nightlife might be approaching a slow comeback by opening two new evening venues — Night Owl in Downtown Abbotsford and the Tipsy Barrel Pub. However, Abbotsford still often winds down early as these spots turn off their lights by 11:00 p.m., except for Fridays and Saturdays when they’re open until 1:00 a.m.
Even for restaurants like Cactus Club Cafe, the decline in the after hours traffic has been significant. Reimer explained that staying open late doesn’t look like a profitable choice with late night sales down all across the industry.
“If Cactus could stay open till 1 or 2 o’clock and it would make financial sense for us as a business, we would do that. The reality is that the demand isn’t there for us to be open that late, where we are starting to spend more money than we’re earning.”
Reimer emphasized his point by highlighting the closure of Townhall, Abbotsford’s only nightclub in October 2024, due to excessive debt and pending interest.
“Ultimately, Townhall is closed now, right? So the market’s speaking, the people are speaking. These businesses are very difficult to run.”
Townhall, owned by the Joseph Richard Group, operated as a pub/bar during the day and then was used as a club in the evening. By mid 2023, the company owed Canadian Western Bank a total of $34.4M, as well as $2.3M to the Bank of Montreal. The Tipsy Barrel has since opened its doors in the space where Townhall used to operate.
In this economy, not everyone has enough disposable income to splurge at a club every weekend. Even if someone does, maybe spending it in a club isn’t a priority. For a student like myself, as much as I would love to have a place to party, I cannot do it every week. It isn’t feasible and scheduling time to party is hard.
“Everything is so expensive. Gas is expensive. Groceries are expensive. School is expensive,” emphasized Reimer.
Obstacles to consider
Considering multiple factors, it’s unlikely that UFV will initiate the conversation of operating campus pubs themselves.
According to Associate Vice President Kyle Baillie, even if UFV were to think about re-introducing nightlife on campus, it’s very expensive and is a trade-off with building resources for students.
“When you look at the current situation of universities and colleges across Canada, [they] are cutting budgets across the board … Our priority is education, our priority is in the classroom, our priority is supporting students. Our priority at the moment is not to create a pub.”
According to Baillie, the UFV student community has changed over time and with it, the way they make choices about their social life.
“Our students are busy. They come here for specific purposes to go to class or participate in really specific things and then they tend to go back. I don’t think it is because students aren’t lacking a social life. They just have a social life elsewhere.”
Culturally, we’ve also seen a lifestyle change; since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, more people are spending their time online. The rise in technology and the ability to meet your loved ones in the comfort of your home using video calls could be making the comeback of campus nightclubs less prevalent. According to Reimer, spending time with friends in a virtual setting, like Discord, is a lot cheaper than going out and spending over a hundred dollars on a night out drinking.
There is also the lack of commuter services after hours for students to go back home. On a brighter note, the Abbotsford City Council has been working on expanding routes and service hours with the transit authorities, but it is a time-consuming process for services to start being effective.
UFV’s proximity to universities in Vancouver and other big cities is a notable aspect. Vancouver, just being one hour away and having a very promising nightlife, makes for a solid alternative to UFV’s missing nightlife. Even if UFV tries to run a campus pub again, they likely won’t compare to bigger universities like the University of British Columbia or Simon Fraser University, that have more established campus infrastructures and student bodies.
The legacy of UFV’s campus pubs
Many newer UFV students like me have never known what an on-campus pub looks like and can’t imagine that the campus once screamed with social buzz, or music streaming across a pub. However, for the staff and students who once enjoyed it, including Levy, AfterMath’s closure has left a void.
“[The pub] encouraged students to participate in community and in engagement on campus … And [I] wish there was something like that now.”
Should UFV prioritize a campus pub? Is having a nightlife important for students, or a disaster waiting to happen? Ultimately, the students themselves hold the key to the future of campus nightlife. Real change at UFV has always begun from the ground up. Froese emphasized that SUS’ real power lies within students and not the administration themselves. If students want to have a campus pub again, the possibility lies within them making a choice and effort to build it.
“You have the power as a student. So if you can get enough people to agree with you, you could go to an AGM and you could say, SUS, you’re going to make a pub.”
