Student bar turns into noodle bar
Leaders of the Guild at Aston University are planning to introduce juice and noodle bars in order to improve falling bar revenues.
The mixture of students choosing to live at home with their parents, along with a large Muslim population who do not drink, has seen takings fall by some £40,000 this year alone. The guild's vice-president, Andrew Allen, expressed concern that with students already debt-conscious and with the introduction of top-up fees next year, the current decline in sales is probably set to continue, and as such would leave Aston with a deficit of £125,000 by 2010.
The decision to transform one of the bars into a 'non-alcoholic social space' offering students an alternative to alcohol will aid the Guild as a whole since it depends on the success of its commercial activities to fund facilities such as its social and welfare services.
Although the Guild still attracts a large student crowd when it hosts music and other large events, this is not enough to pull it out of its financial trouble.
With more students choosing to commute daily to university in order to save on accommodation costs, it would appear that student unions across the country could be facing similar transformations as they adapt to the changing needs of their students.
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