The Vic's Third Rebrand: The Downfall

In my time at St Andrews, I’ve seen The Vic undergo three rebrands — and I’ve only been here for a year and a half. That’s a lot of reinvention for one establishment in such a short time. The Vic holds a certain notoriety in our little town. Once regarded as ‘the only club’ in St Andrews, it was a defining feature of many a fresher experience. Not quite adored, yet somehow enduring, The Vic has survived an impressive 140 years since its opening in 1884 as ‘The Victoria Cafe’, a name it has recently reverted to. This latest rebrand has generated an unimpressed buzz around town, so I decided to check it out myself.

We arrived to find it rather empty and slid into one of the new American diner-esque booths as a waiter came to take our orders. I desperately scoured the menu for a vanilla milkshake only to find that, despite the makeover, The Vic remained a pub-by-day, club-by-night establishment. Disgruntled, I ordered a Sprite and a chip butty. However, I wasn’t the only one left unimpressed. The general consensus among staff was that the rebrand was anything but positive. While The Vic is attempting to position itself as more of a daytime restaurant, it simply doesn’t fit. The Vic relied on student club nights and bar revenue for the bulk of its income, and while food sales have increased, drink revenue has plummeted — hence the desperate lure of £1 mojitos. More concerning is the growing disconnect between The Vic and the student population, with tensions worsening over time.

It seems they’ve taken the classic ‘throw it against the wall and see what sticks’ approach — or in their case, slap on some new paint, change the sign, and hope for the best. The result? A garish mix of styles that don’t make sense, with one employee likening the bright orange interior to Popeyes.

And yet, despite everything, The Vic has lasted decades, outliving countless other establishments. According to alumni, the town has changed immensely while The Vic has remained a constant. It never stood out — it was just a pub that occasionally hosted karaoke nights. These days, most of us frequent The Central, Molly’s, Aikman’s, The Dunny, or The Rule, but St Andrews' nightlife was once a very different scene. Some now-defunct venues include The Lizard Lounge, a cocktail bar-lounge; Ogstons, which was once on Queens Gardens before becoming a boutique hotel on North Street; and Ma Bells, more commonly referred to as Yah Bells due to its reputation as a Kate Kennedy Club haunt.

The problem with The Vic seems to be a growing disconnect between its management and its actual operation. These changes don't reflect the needs of the student body or the local community and it signals a much larger problem — a shift toward commercialization and tourist-oriented priorities. The Vic was once a space for smaller music collectives to host events, offering a more intimate club setting than 601. And with the closing of the Picture House last year in favour of a celebrity-owned sports bar catering to the golf tourism clientele, it feels like yet another student space has been taken away from us. Our community spaces are under duress and our little town is at risk of falling victim to more capitalist priorities. 

Many pubs and establishments have come and gone in St Andrews, and though rarely a favourite, The Vic has endured. But with plummeting drink sales, worsening student relations, and growing disinterest, how much longer can this town’s constant last? I suppose we’ll have to wait and see — will there be another rebrand or a permanent closure?

Illustration by Ruby Pitman