With the closure of Friar Tuck’s Bar and Grill, students will be left to find a new place to start their Friday nights.

Tuck’s, which was a popular Uptown bar for students, has closed its doors in the wake of a fatal shooting that occurred outside the establishment. Prior to the shooting, the bar was under investigation for serving alcohol to customers under the age of 21.

General studies history freshman Hector Gonzales, who said he was served alcohol despite being under 21, was saddened by the news. “That was the spot, right there,” he said. He also challenged the notion that Tuck’s was just merely a place to “pre-game” before heading to another bar, saying, “I like chilling at Tuck’s. Why would you want to go anywhere else?”

But not everyone who frequented the bar on a regular basis held it in such high regard. Criminal justice freshman James Locascio said he went to the bar even though he wasn’t too impressed with the décor. “Tuck’s was cool,” he said. “It was just a little trifling. But it got the job done.” Locascio went on to say that Tuck’s was just the bar he would go to for the start of his night before he would leave for “more legitimate bars.”

Locascio also said that even if the bar hadn’t been closed down that he would have felt uneasy returning there after the shooting. “I would have done the same thing,” he said when talking about bar owner’s decision to cease operations. “If it’s becoming a hazard to the neighborhood, they shouldn’t be open. Even if they hadn’t closed, I wouldn’t have gone there as much, if at all.”

Even with Tuck’s remaining operational for the first half of the school year much of the allure had already faded for some students. Many female students were disappointed that they could no longer rely on getting free drinks on Wednesday and Saturday nights.

“It was nice on Ladies’ night but they stopped Ladies night so there wasn’t any point in going,” said Sarah Scalese, psychology freshman. She was also disappointed that, in response to the investigation, Tuck’s raised the minimum age for entrance to 19. This took the possibility of going to Tuck’s away for the 18 year-old Scalese.

Philosophy freshman Stephen Michael Lee said that since Tuck’s is no longer an option he will be visiting Rocco’s Tavern but also thought that Tuck’s shouldn’t have closed its doors just because of the shooting. “That could have happened anywhere and Tuck’s just happened to be there when it happened,” he said.

Though many people had mixed feelings about Tuck’s, there seemed to be somewhat of a consensus on where fans of Tuck’s will be headed to now. “I’ll probably have to go to those bars on Maple,” said Locascio.

He won’t be alone, as many other freshmen also said that Rocco’s would probably be the next place to go to. Gonzalez said that he would prefer Rocco’s over the next closet option, The Boot, because they are more strict with checking ID.

With Tuck’s primarily being considered a bar for freshmen, many upperclassmen tend to frequent other establishments. But even those who laugh at the idea of going to the bar nowadays still remember the atmosphere vividly. “Tuck’s is only fun for those who drink, otherwise its just depressing,” said music industry business sophomore Will Hagan. Hagan also commented that the smell of cigarettes would stay in his clothes to serve as a reminder of where he had been the night before.

While PJ DiIorio has moved on to other bars, he thinks that going to Tuck’s as a freshman is part of being at Loyola for the first year. “For all the negatives about Tuck’s, its part of being a student,” he said. He continued by saying that the disparaging remarks made by the people that go there are part of the Tuck’s experience. “It was a rite of passage,” he said.

Hasani Grayson can be reached at [email protected]