Loyola Student Dispatch

As the news unexpectedly broke at the end of last week, students and alumni were shocked and saddened.

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“Hamilton’s is like Loyola’s ‘Cheers’,” said Kathleen Leahy, a 22-year-old senior majoring in English, referencing the well-known bar and television show where “everybody knows your name”.

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“You go to Hamilton’s and you know everybody,” Leahy added.

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“Everyone loved this bar,” said Tynesha Fouch, a 23-year-old server at Hamilton’s from Chicago. ”Now that it’s leaving, there are going to be a lot of broken hearts.”

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A vast majority of students were upset by its closing, and for some, Hamilton’s held an even deeper significance.”My grandma who graduated from Loyola remembers going to Hamilton’s, and so do all of my family members,” said Matthew Kemnetz, a 21-year-old senior and physics, mathematics and computer science triple-major.

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“Hamilton’s is a place that’s really important to me, and it’s really important to them,” Kemnetz said. “It connects us all together.”

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The announcement of it closing didn’t only affect those who have been long-time visitors of the bar.

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“I was upset when I found out because I would’ve eventually liked to have gone there and experience it for myself,” said Aamir Kadri, an 18-year-old freshman and physics major.

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“From what I’ve heard, it’s an experience that almost every Loyola student has had, and it’s a good place to meet people and other students,” Kadri said.

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In addition to the heartfelt ties to Hamilton’s that many expressed, underage students like Kadri, who haven’t gotten the chance to visit the bar, offered a more rational take.

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“Hamilton’s is a safer bar to go to because it’s so close to campus,” Kadri said.

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“It’s not like students have to travel 15 or 20 minutes on the Red Line to get to a bar,” he added. “It’s right next to where they live.”

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Those connected to Hamilton’s stressed that the bar didn’t solely serve as a place for students of-legal-age to go out to on the weekends.

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“My club soccer team would go hang out at Hamilton’s,” said Caitlin White, a 22-year-old social media manager and Loyola alum from Chicago.

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“We’d also see the rugby team there and hang out with them, and it wasn’t even our club,” White said.

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“Other students and I would have meetings for classes there,” added Lindsy Fagerstrom, a 22-year-old admission counselor from Chicago, who is also a Loyola alum. “We would work on projects and discuss homework at Hamilton’s.”

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Upon hearing of its announcement that Loyola has a sales contract to purchase the property where Hamilton’s is currently located, many students were surprised.

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“I was pretty confused,” said Maddie Leamon, an 18-year-old freshman, double majoring in english and political science. “Upperclassmen always raved about Hamilton’s, saying how it has become a tradition for students at Loyola.”"It’s that hangout place right next to campus that connects you to the Loyola community,” Kemnetz said. “The announcement sort of came out of left field.”

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Others expressed a bit of constrained understanding for the university’s decision to buy the space, as well as fears for what that might mean for the Loyola community itself.

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“I know that it’s pretty prime real estate with its close location to campus,” Leahy said.

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“But I think Loyola is going to experience a lot more binge drinking because students aren’t going to be drinking in a bar where they can be moderated by bartenders or bouncers,” she added, suggesting a potential increase in on-campus alcohol consumption.

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“It will be good for local business, though,” Leahy added, looking on the brighter side. “The other local bars will get more play.”

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Students across the board struggled with the emotional void that the bar will leave but were quick to underline the importance of celebrating it in the present.

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“The fact that Hamilton’s will be going away is kind of a physical erasing of the memories that I’ve had there as a Loyola student,” said Michael Jansen, a 21-year-old senior majoring in biology.

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“We’re all going to remember Hamilton’s for what it was, and we’re really going to enjoy the time we have left with it,” Jansen said.

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With less than two weeks until it locks its doors, events are being planned, T-shirts are being made, and reunions are taking place in commemoration of what Loyolans see as a landmark in the community.

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“Hamilton’s is very familiar, it’s comforting, like a close friend,” Leahy said. ”There’s something very tragic about losing that.”