The Pub, a cornerstone of the Amherst community, will shut its doors for good Saturday after more than 50 years of service.
The restaurant, located on a busy stretch of bars and clubs frequented by college students on East Pleasant Street, has been in operation since 1968.
Gerald and Dolly Jolly, as well as their 48-year-old son Aaron, a manager at The Pub, have run the business since buying it in 2001.
“I helped running the pub for 24 years," said Aaron Jolly, who has been working at the restaurant since 1996. "We’ve done a lot of good for the community. That’s our thing: staying involved with the community.”
The family recently found out their lease would not be renewed and that they would have to move out of the building they have occupied since the late ’60s, according to Aaron Jolly.
They will be opening a new restaurant in spring 2020 called Savannas, Jolly said. It will occupy a space near where Rafters Sports Bar and Restaurant once stood on Amity Street.
“No more wing joint. No more burger joint,” Jolly said of Savannas. “It’ll be something different.”
Rafters was previously operated by Gerald and Dolly Jolly, but the restaurant closed in June after the couple’s lease ran out in November 2018. It will be replaced by the Herbology Group, a business that sells medical and recreational marijuana.
At both Rafters and The Pub, the Jolly family stayed involved in the Amherst community, participating in town-wide social events and charities. For 25 years, Rafters hosted The Rafters College Towne Classik Road Race, an event that raised money for the Jimmy Fund and the Amherst Police Relief Association.
“They’ve been really generous with local community organizations," said Claudia Pazmany, executive director of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce. "Institutionally, it’s been a cornerstone. That being said, we’re excited for their new chapter.”
The Pub was originally conceived as an English pub, with oversized booths, a bar held together by hundreds of wooden pegs and a motif featuring a “coats of arms,” according to the restaurant’s website. It had a casual drinking atmosphere, where patrons could buy a hearty steak or burger.
It was also an attraction for various famous figures, including Johnny Carson, who dined there the year it opened, and Natalie Cole, who made her debut as an R&B singer in 1972 as a student at the University of Massachusetts, the website said.
Gerald Jolly has helped operate The Pub since it opened its doors 52 years ago, and he has updated its atmosphere as the times have changed, according to Aaron Jolly.
“It went through all the decades of change,” he said, adding that during the ’80s the restaurant shifted to have a more active nightlife scene. “When the drinking age went to 21, the emphasis changed."
For the duration of the restaurant’s run, though, the focus stayed on the Amherst community, Jolly said.
“We’re thankful for Amherst and being a part of the community,” Jolly said. “The place meant a lot.”
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