Early Years
The Lion’s Pause first opened its doors in the Spring of 1968. Located in the basement of Old Ytterboe Hall (used to be located in the same place as the current Buntrock Commons building), the space billed itself as a casual shop where students could come, enjoy an informal atmosphere, relax, and socialize. Planned, organized, and funded completely by student organizations, the Pause created a new hangout separate from the administrative bureaucracy. Since the beginning, food and music have been inexorably linked in the Pause. The original space contained a small stage where students and outside performers would come in and play 20-30 minute sets a few times a night. When musicians were not on stage, they played records through the sound system. In addition to coffee, the original Pause also served a variety of breads and cheeses.
“Pizza heats up the Pause”
It might seem odd, but the current Pause Pizza was only introduced in 1993. On Halloween, the Pause kitchen cooked up 40 pizzas, delivering them to Mellby Hall. At that moment “fresh, homemade pizza became a new addition to [the] Pause menu.” According to Dave Henderson (’94), kitchen workers in the Pause had to turn customers down the first night. He said “Everything blew up, it happened too quick.”” Currently, Pause Pizza is one of the key items in the Pause menu with 10 different types of pizza and a monthly pizza special in both 12 and 16 inch sizes. Customers also have the option of buying by-the-slice.
Old Ytterboe -> Buntrock Commons
When the Old Ytterboe Hall was demolished and the new Buntrock Commons was being built in 1998-1999, the Lion’s Pause found its place in the Student Center (aka the Alley, currently Center of Art and Dance) and continued its service to the students as a spot for hanging out, music, and movies.
Former Pause Coordinator Sarah Bober noted that, regardless of the location change, mentioned in her article in the Manitou Messinger: “The new Pause will continue to have shows and movies, …” (March 14, 1997). Even though the Pause moved to a new space, the students kept the same spirit.
Nowadays Pause
When the Buntrock donation paved the way for the behemoth that is Buntrock Commons, both Dean Buntrock and his wife were personally very involved in the creation and equipping of the new Pause space. Even though the commons itself shrunk from its originally planned size, the Pause space was never altered. Modeled after the famous First Avenue concert venue in Minneapolis, the new Lion’s Pause contains several rooms including a kitchen, TV space, and the Mane Stage.
R.I.P. Lair
The Lair was a space where student bands could practice and karaoke nights were held. Several shows have been organized in the Lair and it was a great spot for such events. However, due to the college’s decision, it has been redesigned and assigned to Bon Appetit to serve as a new food-providing option for the students as a convenience store, currently known as the Cave.
The loss of the Lair resulted in decreased amounts of chances for the student bands to practice, since the Mane stage is mainly used for larger events, and the Pause Executive team had to make the decision to give priority to these events. We try to do our best to support our student bands. Some of these bands have been part of our journey for more than 30 years.
The Lair was gone by the start of the Fall semester in 2023.
Events at the Pause
Designed to host a variety of events such as dances, cultural showcases, TED Talks, musical performances, concerts, trivia nights, etc. The Mane Stage can hold up to 700 guests, however, for security and safety reasons, the capacity is usually held at lower numbers. Many artists have performed at the Pause throughout the history, including Lizzo, Denzel Curry, and IDK.
Even though The Jungle is usually used as a study and friends gathering space, after the demolition of the Lair, the stage has been moved here, and some events are held there including tiny desk concerts and karaoke nights.
The Den is the ultimate spot for playing pool, foosball, chess, shuffleboard, board games, and video games for the student body. Every semester there are pool and video game tournaments. The winners are showcased in the space.
Sources
All of the historical information has been taken from the releases of the Viking Yearbook and The Messenger from earlier years and can be found on the College Archives website.