JD Wetherspoons has entered a partnership with a Scottish university, with a new bar to replace the existing student union venue.
The bar, located within the St Andrews Students' Association building on St Mary's Place, will open on September 4 after the existing venue has a full refurbishment and rebrand over the summer.
The decision was confirmed by the St Andrew’s Student Union after it was voted on by students at a student body meeting on April 28.
University trustees have also approved a £1.2 million loan for the franchising project.
The Student’s Association has said it will maintain control over the operation of the space and assured that all current bar staff, who are mostly students, will remain employed.
The pub’s new name will be chosen from a list put forward by students which takes into account the area’s history, bosses have said.
The space currently hosts a range of student society activities, which the Student Union assures will remain in place under the new partnership. The Student Union has also pledged that student-only nights in the next-door club – 601 – will be protected.
The decision comes after Chris Clarke, the chief operating officer of the Student Association, told students that the Main Bar had run a deficit every year since Covid, saying that the current model for running the university venue was “risky” and “difficult to keep going".
This left the Association with no choice but to franchise with JD Wetherspoons - or go bust.
It will be the first Wetherspoons to open in the picturesque town and is another addition to the rising number of major UK chains dominating its high street, rivalling the town’s renowned independent shops and pubs.
Some students and locals opposed the decision, with a majority of 66% of students responding in a December 2025 survey that they would be unhappy if the Student Association were to franchise the bar.
However others, including the student campaign group "St Spoonsdrews", have welcomed the decision.
