Aside from the occasional house or fraternity party, Binghamton night life is concentrated almost entirely within the one-block strip of bars on State Street. While this area has become a sacred staple of many Binghamton University students’ weekends, the long-awaited opening of the Mad Moose Saloon — about two blocks from the State Street strip — may cause a shift in the location of BU’s social life.
Brian Wachsman, co-owner of Mad Moose, began plans for the establishment in the spring of 2005 while enrolled as a graduate M.B.A. student at BU. With the help of his business partner Tiffany Zatley, a 27-year-old local entrepreneur, Wachsman conducted extensive research to find out if students wanted an alternative to local bars and what it would take to launch the project.
“I’d been a nightlife patron myself when I was a student here,” Wachsman said, “and I had a pretty good grasp of the quality of these places. We saw that students wanted something bigger, better, cleaner, more spacious … something Manhattan or Vegas style. And it developed from there.”
Wachsman’s vision for a “cutting-edge” establishment is based on the “all-in-one concept.” Mad Moose, he says, will have a full-service bar, jumbo plasma television screens, a sports bar, dance floors, private V.I.P. room, plush furniture and eventually, “a family-style kitchen service where you can feed four people with one cheeseburger.”
But Wachsman isn’t the only BU influence on the bar. He has been recruiting student interns for 53 Chenango St. for months.
Greg Reynolds, junior management major and marketing intern for Mad Moose, said that events like Survivor Beer Pong tournaments will be “classier versions of what is going on already on State Street. Themed parties will be literally wall to wall, floor to ceiling programs.”
Mad Moose also hopes to set itself apart from its competition with exceptional customer service. “People are tired of walking into establishments and not having the bartender look at them, or waiting 15 minutes for a drink,” Wachsman said. “We’re trying to create an atmosphere where you walk out and say, ‘Wow, those people are awesome, and I want to hang out there all the time.’”
But the fact that Mad Moose still hasn’t opened — despite being scheduled to do so in August — has left many potential patrons disappointed. Wachsman said that obstacles such as construction delays and plumbing and sewage issues caused by the summer’s flood set the process back. Delays aside though, he admitted that “we just didn’t want to rush the experience we’ve been preaching from day one. We could have cut corners, but then we’d be offering something similar to everyone else.”
He added that he hopes to open before the semester ends.
Yet with the snowy season setting in, now might not be the best time for a grand opening. Senior PPL major Daniel Kosack explained that he’s not that interested in Mad Moose because “the walk to State Street from my house is far enough as it is, so going to Chenango Street just for a bar doesn’t seem likely, especially with winter on its way.”
The possibility that students may be content with the convenience of door-to-door bar-hopping on State Street is not a concern for Wachsman, however. “To not walk three minutes out of your way seems silly,” he said. “Eventually people will be coming here and walking there.” Reynolds added that the free parking garage next door to Mad Moose should help to gear students in that direction.
Despite the setbacks, Wachsman is confident that once students “give us a shot, they’ll see what we’re talking about.” And even though he promises a “first class experience that you can’t find at any other place in this area,” students can rest assured that prices won’t be through the roof. “There won’t be 10 cent beers or 50 cent mugs,” Wachsman said, “but there also won’t be four or five dollar pints. We’re going to be just as competitive as the other places are.”