Opening night for The Arbor set for Oct. 8

The Arbor, Stanford’s largely student-run outdoor bar and entertainment space, will open for the fall this Friday. Expect trivia nights on Thursdays and live music on Fridays in the Tresidder Memorial Union courtyard.

The Arbor, Stanford’s largely student-run outdoor bar and entertainment space, offers food and nonalcoholic drinks in collaboration with two nearby restaurants, as well as local draft beer for those 21 and over. (Image credit: Stanford Social Project)

The venue offers food and nonalcoholic drinks in collaboration with two nearby restaurants, The Treehouse and the Coffee House (CoHo), as well as local draft beer for those 21 and over (who must show ID when ordering).

This fall’s entertainment includes an indie pop-rock artist, a Motown band and an R&B pop artist. The goal is to showcase independent Stanford musical groups – not artists from outside Stanford or university-run music groups.

“We will have different types of music – we’re open to anyone who is interested in playing,” said Bradley Immel, Class of ’21. One of three student leads for The Arbor, he’s focusing on organizing the live music.

A larger team of student staff members is just one indication of The Arbor’s growth.

“I’m really excited that now that we’re a bit more established, we’re going to have our own dedicated audio equipment,” Immel said. “We’ll have a more professional, more stable setup.”

Undergraduates pitched The Arbor to the university as a great place to hang out with friends under twinkling stars and string lights. They envisioned game and comedy nights, and live student bands.

The Arbor debuted in spring 2019, quickly becoming a popular nighttime alternative venue for students, and then reopened in spring 2021, as students returned to campus.

“The Arbor was extremely successful last spring, even with all the public health restrictions,” said Nate Boswell, special assistant in the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Affairs. “It made the campus feel a little more like home for our students.”

The plan is to save the space and time for students, Boswell said, emphasizing that other campus departments won’t be able to schedule events there on Thursday and Friday evenings: “Student social life and student use of The Arbor will always take priority.”