Calling it too crowded, hot and a haven for underage drinkers, many Ohio State students said they were not surprised to hear the Nut House bar and nightclub closed this summer.
"It was kind of a shady place and I didn't like the atmosphere," said Jeremy Coles, a senior in psychology. "It was a place where freshmen went and even high schoolers."
The Nut House, located at 2159 N. High St., initially came under scrutiny last October when the University Area Commission petitioned to have the bar's liquor license revoked.
At the end of last spring, the bar was sold to a new owner, John Miani, who is also the current owner of Little Bar.
On Sept. 15, the Ohio Liquor Control Commission denied the bar a liquor license. The Nut House must remain closed while Miani appeals the license rejection, a process that could take as long as a year.
Previous owner Petey Ilijevski said the Nut House losing its license is due to a few factors.
"With the bar being 18 and over, there was a lot of underage drinking with them sneaking drinks," he said. "It was hard to control 600-700 kids."
Because of this, he said, the bar and nightclub decided to go with a 21 and up admittance policy last spring to avoid police calls for underage drinking, noise and fighting.
"The new management is doing a lot of good things," he said. "When it is 21 and over, it will be a better place to go hang out and dance."
For people like Coles, students may need a little more convincing.
When the cast of MTV's Laguna Beach were guests a few years ago, Shatara Walters, a junior in textiles and clothing, saw that as her incentive to go to the Nut House.
She described the event as "sheer chaos" and did not enjoy herself. She returned to the Nut House a few times after that only because there were few places to go being underage.
Jared Rausch, a senior in political science, said noise is something that should be expected from a bar near campus.
"It's a campus bar that's all about nightlife," he said. "I think they probably should have just left it open."
He has never been to the Nut House, but visited the bar under its previous management years ago when it was named "Old School", before the days of the South Campus Gateway.
He said that he did not hear much gossip from friends or peers about the Nut House and remembers Old School being more popular.
"No wonder everyone went there," he said. "There was nothing else open."
Candace Adrian can be reached at adrian.15@osu.edu.
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