Winchester Student Union: Winning the battle in fighting off the high street

The proliferation of high street bars with their drinks deals and promotions are directly affecting the student union bars around the country. Fortunately there is a way of fighting back. The newly opened Terrace and Vault bars at Winchester are a fantastic example. Tom Manville runs the Terrace Bar which is their main day bar and also the 2 bars located in the Vault, a 600 capacity multi purpose event venue, with the latter being utilised by the university itself to host conferences and seminars.

All 3 Bars are equipped with IMC stainless steel underbar systems and refrigeration to cope with the great variation in trade and drinks options.

Bar Manager Tom Manville states “Since the opening of both bars in October we have had a great deal of success pulling people back from the town bars, compared with the small bar we ran in the old building. The university are so pleased that the new Student Union is now used as a marketing tool to attract students to Winchester”

The Bars cater for all students requiring a variety of both alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks during day and night. The bars are located on two floors; the Terrace Bar caters for the daytime refreshments while the main Vault Bar opens several nights a week. The Vault Bar is also open to host cinema nights, live bands and as a night club venue.

The IMC equipment in all the venues enable the bar environments to be created that incorporate dedicated workstations for each member of bar staff. These generally include the storing of glasses, ice, cooling wines, beers and mixers, dispensing draught beer and soft drinks, and they also provide safe and practical till locations.

This approach helps staff serve customers faster and more efficiently, with everything required being positioned within just a few steps of the customer-facing serving area, effectively creating a zone that will encompass both the front underbar and back bar refrigeration. In turn, this enables standards of customer service to be improved, while the use of stainless steel makes each installation hygienic and easy to clean. One key point in the choice of IMC equipment at Winchester was the durability and modular design of their underbar systems, as they were able to re-use existing equipment from their old “Lounge” Bar. Much of the equipment in the second bar in the Vault was taken from this old bar before the building was demolished to make way for the new Student Union building.


Gary Barnabas, Product Manager of Bar Systems at IMC explains, “Fundamental to the success of every business is the ability to adapt and evolve and student union bars are no exception. The latest bar equipment enables bar managers not only to improve staff efficiency and productivity, but also to enhance the students experience and thus keep them coming back for more, ultimately generating a considerable increase to a unions bottom line.”