Hordes of undergraduates grind rhythmically to the latest radio smash. Students pack the dance floor to dance, chill and spill beer. Sounds like Scandal’s on a Thursday night? After spring break, the scene could happen at the new Dawg Pound restaurant and tavern.
In mid-March, the Winthrop neighborhood will change with the addition of the Dawg Pound. Located on Cherry Road, the Dawg Pound will be across from the Thompson residence hall. The building was formerly occupied by the Time Out sports bar but has been vacant for over four years.

Thorough renovations are being made to the interior and exterior of the Dawg Pound on Cherry Road, across from Winthrop University.
Time Out, which formerly had two locations, is now located on Herlong Avenue near the Piedmont Medical Center.
“It’s a very good location but my lease ran out and I only wanted one location,” Susan Zeider, Time Out owner said. “I hope whoever goes in there does something for the students because most students are not of legal drinking age.”
The restaurant will offer students low cost food, entertainment and a place to relax said Stefanie Johns, the 21-year-old owner of the Dawg Pound. Amenities will include a dance floor, pool tables, plasma-screen TVs and saltwater aquariums with “pug-nosed dogfish.”
“Winthrop needs this badly,” said Johns, a junior integrated marketing communication major at Winthrop. “We’re hoping for a mid-March opening.”
Johns received the restaurant as a gift from her father for Christmas. She is 85 percent corporate owner, leaving the remaining 15 percent to her mother.
The Dawg Pound’s specialty will be hot dogs and wings.
“You can get any kind of hot dog and a longneck Natural Light beer for $2,” said B.J. Johns, Stefanie’s father. “It will be open six days as a restaurant and at 9 p.m., it will become a tavern with games and a dance floor.”
Another Dawg Pound specialty: parking.
“As of Feb. 15, we’re going to start selling parking spots,” Johns said. “The Winthrop commuter lots are so far away for students.”
The Dawg Pound parking spaces will cost $30 per month, which includes four meals, or $20 per month without meals. Winthrop commuter parking passes are $75 for one academic year but students must park in the commuter parking lots behind the Dinkins Student Center, the Legion Lot West on Cherry Road or along Myrtle Drive.
Some students like the idea of another entertainment venue.
“It’s good for college students and will provide something new besides Scandal’s,” Nick Michael, a (what year) integrated marketing communication major said. “I think renting out parking is a good idea for public relations with students.”
“I like that it’s across the street from campus,” said (what year) biology and Spanish double major Elia Arenas. “They’re going to make a lot of money.”