The Bear’s Lair brew pub, UC Berkeley Campus, berkeley, california
In 2002, The University of California at Berkeley-a public University institution—asked John Martin, a well-known microbrew pub owner, to take over The Bear’s Lair, a long time Berkeley Civic Institution, located in the Martin Luther King Jr. ASUC Building on the UC Berkeley Campus. The 5-story brutalist board-formed concrete institutional Student Union building was constructed in the early 1960’s on Sproul Plaza and the Bear’s Lair was part of the original building. Robert Nebolon Architects were retained by UC Berkeley and John Martin to redesign/restoration/modernization of the interior space. Long-hidden board-formed concrete walls were revealed and Large folding glass doors were installed to replace an wood wall for better access to an outdoor dining area. New dark oak stained banquettes were installed; a central bar was also installed with a stainless steel dropped ceiling for glass mug storage. Cal Bear Sporting paraphernalia was placed on all the walls to decorate the brew pub. In 2006, Sports Illustrated Magazine listed the Lair in its top 25 college sports bars. RNA provided design services to the bar—new ADA bathrooms, kitchen remodeling— until 2015 whereupon this Bear’s Lair version was closed when the entire building was remodeled with a new addition and seismic upgrades. A new Bear’s Lair under different ownership re-opened in 2022 at a different location. #robertnebolonarchitects