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The Spoke
The Spoke, formerly known as The Spoke and Rim Tavern, is the campus pub and cafe at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. Operated by the University's Student Council, the pub has been around since 1968. It maintains a variety of menu options, across its three self-contained service locations. It offers a diverse range of programming throughout the week for the student community including music performances and guest speakers.

History
The pub was established in 1969, under the name The Spoke and Rim Tavern, a name which can still be found on the current liquor license. Located initially in Somerville House, it has since moved over to the University Community Centre, following the departure of another campus bar, The Elbow Room, from the basement of the building.

It is owned and operated under the University's Student Council, under the same management of another campus eatery, The Wave, which is also located in the University Community Centre.

Programming
As its primary function is that of a campus pub, its events are catered mainly from Monday-Friday, when the student concentration would be at its highest. Any major weekend events are held in the larger space of The Wave.

Featuring a performance stage at the front of the venue, the Spoke can fit the needs of a wide array of programming options. They host student-run events such as Western TV Live, as well as a number of different speakers brought in by clubs, or other branches of the university, having brought in then-head of the Liberal Party of Canada, Justin Trudeau, in February of 2013.

The slate of weekly programming is as follows:

Monday
Sports Night - showcasing a variety of sports options on their many televisions

Tuesday
Live Band Rockaoke - patrons come onstage and sing lead vocals in front of the house band, Highman. The music catalog is supplied by CarbunkleSongbooks

Wednesday
Rick's - Rick McGhie has been playing live music at Western for over 35 years. His set remains consistent from week to week, and has grown to involve significant audience participation.

Thursday
Trivia Night - Teams of 1-5 people compete to answer trivia questions in order to win the Ron McLean Trivia Challenge Cup as well as other rotating prizes.

Friday
Coffee House - the space gets rented out to university clubs who can reserve the stage for their own coffee houses.

Staff
The pub & cafe employ over 100 students from Western University and annually pays out over $300,000 to those students.

Ben Lollar is the manager. Adam Mortezof is the kitchen manager. Brendan O'Shea is the night manager.

Menu
The cafe offers 3 roasts of coffee: light, medium, dark. It also offers a full range of espresso drinks, as well as iced coffee and tea. The cafe also serves bagels, on their own or in sandwiches.

The restaurant offers traditional pub fare such as nachos, pizza, fries, chicken fingers, and hamburgers.

The bar carries a wide selection of draught beers, featuring large commercial brews as well as select Ontario craft beers. They also carry a number of international beers, as part of their Beer Tour of The World, wherein customers fill out a custom passport in order to try beers from around the world.