Yep, Thursday nights at The Rat were dead when I got to campus. The only people that would end up there were people that didn't have any plans. I'll never understand why kids didn't use that as the pregame spot. Cheap beer, solid food.
They always had a good beer selection.
When I was there, it was pretty much a early happy hour spot plus Thursday nights. Which was a pregame spot.
Just rent in "the hood". Thats what I did. It was very cheap.
My theory is that the kids that are looking for cheap booze aren't plentiful enough on campus. I used to hit the Fridays across US-1, for their happy hour specials and grab a bite to eat before going out. That became our spot, because you could get a buzz going on the cheap. I have no idea what these kids do today, but then again: The last time I was on campus, kids thought the Grove wasn't good enough and it became more about Brickell and SB than about hitting the Grove. Times change.
Oh yea, post afternoon wave classes, it would have a nice turnout. Loved going on Wednesdays before night basketball games. You'd get a good turnout if the team was any good.
We would always close the Rat down on thursdays then hit the Grove. The last time I was in Miami, the Grove was dead.
Craft beer hardly existed in the 80's. When I was a student at UM (late 2000's into the early 2010's), there were some decent beer options at The Rat, but I'm sure they have a lot now. Craft beer has really exploded in popularity only within the last 10 years or so, and even more so within the last 5.
Grove is beyond dead. I hit it one last time in 2019(Went to the Miami/UF game in Orlando, flew into MIA on a Thursday and stayed a night at the Mutiny). It was depressing walking around, Tavern and Moes gone, Sandbar was a refuge of kids with fake IDs, Barracudas was even struggling. I just think that the Miami student body doesn't have the kind of kids that appreciate those kind of bars. I've talked to some of my old classmates that stayed and are currently on faculty at Miami, and they noted that locally, the Grove is due for a change. Those bars are losing money and the locals are tired of it. They looked the other way when those places were packed, now they aren't.
The Grove has completely changed. It's not a college spot anymore. It's more of a spot for families and couples, as most of the main attractions are upscale restaurants. Last time I was down there, the only "college bars" left were Sandbar and Barrcaudas, and even that is a shell of its former self. I remember back in the day when Main Highway and its nearby side streets were littered with college dive bars. The old CocoWalk is currently being rebuilt. I think it's supposed to turn into another upscale mixed-use center, which is totally different than the Old CocoWalk.
I loved it so much, I stayed for an MBA and JD.
The fanciest beer we had was Carlsburg which we called Gnarlsburg.
I love hearing about Miami and how it was and how its changed now. I really would like to go back and visit but I wont know where to go.
I think we had that one too, but I usually stuck with Yuengling. The fanciest beer we had when I was a student was probably Newcastle.
"I'm feeling flush, I'll have a Heineken pitcher"--Me after getting that scholarship stipend check.
The houses off of Granada are about 950k right now and those duplexes are garbage dumps. I lived in one, it's a stereotypical college house. That said, that land is very valuable.