The Grille

Generations of Rutgers–Camden students have fond, though sometimes hazy, memories of the Grille. From the 1930s to the 1990s, the Grille was the place to be on a Thursday night. Whether you entered through the front door on Sixth Street or the more discreet “ladies’ entrance” on Lawrence Street, you knew you were among friends. In the back room, you could pull up a chair to a table of friends, play a game of Pong or shuffle bowling, and pick your favorite songs on the juke box, maybe “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” “Benny and the Jets,” “Anarchy in the U.K.,” or “She Sells Sanctuary.” At the front bar, you could grab a stool (if you were lucky –there were only a few of them) and pick your favorite libation – a 7 oz. beer, a shot of peach schnapps or maybe a bottle of Lite beer.

The Grille was also a favorite lunchtime haunt for students, faculty, and staff. The waitresses were friendly, the beer was cold, and the hot roast beef sandwiches were the best around.

Now the original Grille is being lovingly restored for its first use since 1994 at Reunion 2009 by Dave Ramsay CCAS’79. David Ramsay Cabinetmakers, Inc., is a unique 12-person custom cabinetry shop with a showroom located in the historic Old Collins Lumber Building in Moorestown.

Stop by the Grille Reunion Tent and join former classmates and original Grille bartenders (Mack Langford, Max and Sue Lara, Bob Braunwarth, Chuck Mannella, Tucker O'Malley, Bob Applegate, and others) and waitresses (including Sue Roth Watson) to reminisce about your favorite college hangout. Have your picture taken and, for one night only, enjoy special Grille accoutrements at the original Grille bar: Pong, shuffle bowling, a genuine original stool, pickled pigs feet, hardboiled eggs, grain-soaked cherries, and more!

Specially designed commemorative mugs and coasters to mark the occasion will be given to the first 100 alumni who register and pay.

Join us for this once-in-a-lifetime exciting reunion within the Reunion!

The Tavern

For alumni of a certain age, just hearing the words “The Tavern” evokes warm memories. Tucked into the corner at the bottom of the Campus Center stairs was the Rutgers–Camden’s own watering hole. Long before the Law Journal claimed the space, in the time before the pizza parlor served up pies there, Rutgers–Camden students ducked in for a quick, cold one between classes (or occasionally, during classes).

For one night only, come back to the Tavern and relive the days when 19-year-olds could legally drink beer and Oktoberfest was cause for a campus celebration.

* Please note: Despite numerous requests, we will NOT be screening certain favorite movies that used to be shown in the Tavern back in the pre-Internet days. Yes, times certainly have changed … and we’re all too old for that nonsense anyway!