There was a time when the UBC Stamp and Coin Club could have met at night at SUB and had Pizza and Beer!!! Quite cheaply but then as you may see wages were not that great either then.
A fairly replete history of the SUB Pizza Parlor from the Ubyssey (and its token)
September 14th, 1976 Ubyssey
“Parlor opens tonight
Pizza and beer will replace hamburgers and milk every night in the SUB cafeteria snack bar beginning today at 7p.m. The new SUB pizza parlor will offer beer, wine, cider and pop over the counter from 7p.m. to 12:30a.m. Friday and Saturday.
A night at the parlor will be cheap, said Dennis Zomar, head of SUB food services. Generally our prices are 26 to 46 per cent lower than a comparable pizza place in the city, he said.
A 16-inch pizza will cost about $4.50 at the SUB parlor compared to $6 for a 14-inch pizza from a local restaurant.
Booze prices will be identical to Pit charges: 60 cents for bottled beer, $1.25 for imported, 85 cents for B.C. cider, $1.85 to $3.20 per bottle for seven Canadian wines and $3.45 to $4.40 per bottle for three imported wines.
“The concept of our pizza parlor is to offer good food and drink to the students at a time and in an atmosphere not offered before,” Zomar said. The parlor will provide an alternative to the Pit, which is generally packed, he said.
The parlor operations will be managed by Marvin Woolley who will head a part-time staff of about 30 people. They will be paid the same as food service employees who now earn between $3.50 and $4 an hour.
Woolley said he has filled most of the positions but is still accepting applications. He is available in the food services office area, room 105 B.
Woolley estimated the parlor will use 76 tables with a seating capacity for 400. The parlor will be self-serve with staff members on hand to clear tables and gather bottles. Pit tokens will be honored.
There will be no delivery to residences until business warrants it, perhaps after Christmas, Zomar said.”
September 16th 1976 Ubyssey
Delays mar parlor opening
By CHARLIE MICALLEF
Hour long delays and mistakes in the kitchen opened the SUB pizza parlor Tuesday night.
“We waited nearly an hour for our pizza”, said Linda Reiser, a second year student, “and then we got the Vegetarian pizza instead of the Graduate which we ordered.
Janet Smith said the pizza service didn’t matter much to her “I just came to get a little bit drunk,” she said.
“Maybe if there was dancing and better music,” said Roberta Robinson, “I’d go out of my way to come here. But we just happened to be on campus and thirsty”.
Jody Krebel physical education 4 and Kathy Brooks geography 3, said they waited about 40 minutes for their pizza.
Krebel was surprised at the transition of the cafeteria but said she was not very impressed. “The Pit is better,” she said, “and I’m here more for the booze than the pizza. I tried the Pit first but it was full.”
Brooks said she was surprised at the heavy turn out for the first night. “We had a night class so we just stopped in for a drink. The food is good,” she said, “but I like cafeteria food.”
Max Schagintweit, engineering 2, said he saw the parlor ad in the Ubyssey, but came mainly for the booze. “The décor and all that does the job, but I’m sure it will become another pub,” he said,
“We waited 40 minutes before we even got our pizza, so you have to drink, almost,” Schlagintweit said.
The pizza tasted better than most but he said he would not come out of his way to go to the parlor if he lived off campus. Schlagintweit lives in Gage Towers.
The parlor is open Tuesday to Friday from 8p.m. to 12:30a.m. and Saturdays from 7p.m. to 12:30 a.m. The parlor will be closed Sunday and Monday.
Doorman William Low, an engineering student, said security for the parlor would be fairly tight.
The five doors to the parlor are electronically monitored by a security device watched at the main door. A red light will flash and a horn will sound on the device if entry is made.
The door person or floor personnel will check the patron’s student card. If the patron has no card or is not a guest of a student or staff member he or she will not be let in.
“It is a pain,” said Low, “but the doors can’t be locked because they’re emergency exits.” Troublemakers and “undesirables,” Low said, are not allowed in the parlor.
The campus police and RCMP will handle any major problems, Low said. A hand stamping procedure will be used on busy nights for those leaving the parlor temporarily.
Pit manager Marvin Woolley estimated that 350 people attended the Tuesday opening. “Money-wise, we sold more pizza than beer,” he said. “It worked out to about 50 cases of beer and 130 pizzas for the first night.”
Woolley a former district manager for Shakey’s Pizza and an ex bush-pilot in Alaska, said he answered the ad placed in a local newspaper for the position.
“We were happy about the opening night,” he said. “There were problems but we’re working on them.”
Dennis Zomar, SUB cafeteria manager, said delays were bound to occur. “At one point were had 38 pizzas on order at once. We did fall behind but it was a trial period for us,” he said.
Zomar said the opening had no effect on attendance at the Pit.
Red tokens have been issued for beverages. Pit tokens will not be honored at the parlor.
Parlor routine works like this: a patron, providing he has been okayed by the doorman, proceeds to the cashier and makes his selection of pizza and beverages. He pays, then receives a token for his drink, a numbered paper stub for his pizza and continues to the bar.
At the bar he receives his drink and proceeds to the pizza counter where he will present his pizza stub to the counter person.
He retains part of the ticket as his pizza number. He waits for his number to be called over the public address system. He then presents his pizza stub at the pizza counter and collects his food.
“It was the only system we could think of,” said Woolley, “considering the set-up in there. It seems to work. In the first hour we had about 100 people seated and eating,” he said. “We might add to the menu, but not in the near future,” Woolley said. “Dancing will not become a part of the parlor. We have a restaurant license and it prohibits dancing”.”
January 13th, 1977 re a resignation concerning the Parlor
“Herb Dhaliwhal, a student member of the food services committee, said he thought Bailey’s resignation was connected with disagreements between Bailey and Vogt.”
“And Dhaliwhal said, Bailey liked to operate food services in his own way, without input from groups such as the food services committee.
“He made several changes without mentioning them to the committee. He raised prices in the pizza parlor (in the SUB cafeteria) last week without bringing it up to the committee.
“I really think he should have brought that up before the committee,” Dhaliwhal said.”
“And he made several time changes. The place was closed sometimes when it shouldn’t have been. And hours were changed sometimes without any notice to either the committee or the AMS.
“Bailey’s attitude was that he wanted to run things his own way. He didn’t like having a food services committee. “He’d rather make decisions on his own and get it going,” Dhaliwal said.”
I wonder whatever happened to Herb Dhaliwal?
January 20th, 1977. The hours indicated in an advertisement were expanded:
“Tuesday – Friday 8p.m. to 12:30a.m.
Saturdays 7p.m. to 12:30a.m.
Happy Hour Friday 8-9p.m.
Family Hour Saturday 7-8p.m.
Thursday was CITR Disco Dance
On Friday there was “Live Band Dancing”
The SUB pizza parlor closed on April 15th, 1977. I seem to recollect seeing a green plastic token of theirs with white lettering. I have a red.
