IU Bloomington unveiled a new dining spot, The Vault Pub, at the Indiana Memorial Union Sept. 1. What sets it apart from other campus dining locations? Patrons will be able to listen to live music and drink alcoholic beverages — all in the heart of campus.
Rahul Shrivastav, executive director of IU Dining, said The Vault Pub is a great addition to the Bloomington restaurant scene.
“We have a hotel here — the Biddle Hotel — where travelers come from all over the world and stay with us,” said Shrivastav, who has the same name as the IU provost. “And one of the first questions we get is, 'where's the pub?'”
The Vault Pub took the location of the former Dunn Meadow Café and was part of the Indiana Memorial Union renovation that took place during the height of the pandemic. Shrivastav said it would have opened earlier if not for issues during the pandemic.
“That renovation was done right through the pandemic,” Shrivastav said. “And supply chain issues labor shortages were the big, big situations at that point in time.”
One of the draws of adding The Vault Pub is the alcoholic beverage offerings. Many Big Ten universities such as Ohio State, Purdue and Michigan State run pubs on their campuses.
But drinks aren’t the only thing unique about the pub. All the food offerings are brought in from local vendors.
Its Fischer Farms burgers and pork tenderloin come from a place 16 miles from Bloomington. The complementary popcorn- what Shrivastav called part of “Hoosier Hospitality” — comes from Jasper, Indiana.
“We push a lot of local food around here,” Shrivastav said.
And the Hoosier spirit is felt in every corner of the pub — from the giant photo of the original Bill Garrett Fieldhouse, the bar counter made from the original fieldhouse floors, to the signed posters from acts that have performed on campus.
“We're very proud of having that tradition here,” Shrivastav said. “There's a lot of history around this room. It's a great place to hang out, and it's a great place to be at.”
The Vault Pub is open Thursdays from 4-10 p.m., Fridays from 4 p.m. to midnight, and Saturdays from noon to midnight.
