It’s a tale as old as time: college students love to relax with adult beverages and Chico State students are no strangers to having a good time.

What better place to do so than at Madison Bear Garden, which won the award for Best Bar in the Best of Chico contest.

Walking into the Bear is a sensory overload: from the delicious smells of various burgers on the grill to the odd bits of memorabilia, like the old-time wagon hanging in the front entrance, or the multiple bear posters that line the walls.

“Its decor makes it the perfect place to play I-spy,” said Madeline Michael, senior communication studies major. “It is an experience that is unique all on its own.”

The restaurant is open seven days a week and functions primarily as a bar from 9 p.m. to closing at 1:45 a.m. With three bars, two indoors and one outside, patrons of all ages are able to get their fill while enjoying the music and fun atmosphere that come with the Bear.

Jaclyn Smith, junior agriculture business major, says the crowd’s favorite drink is an AMF. Although not entirely sure what the drink’s ingredients consist of, Smith says it tastes great on a night out on the town, and it is the first-choice drink at the Bear.

Along with mixed drinks, the Bear offers various others, including Sierra Nevada, a local brew.

“They have a great selection of beers on tap,” Michael said.

This bar is unique because it offers multiple levels for patrons to meander about in. From the outside bar to the upstairs dance floor, the Bear offers a variety of areas to kick back after a long week on campus.

“It’s like a different environment on every level (of the bar), which is cool,” Smith said.

If students want to do something other than hanging out while at the Bear, they can try their hand at karaoke, dubbed “Bear-a-oke,” on Monday nights from 9 p.m. to closing. Not the next great singer? Take a ride on a trike bike on Wednesday nights, starting at 10 p.m.

Chico State students have been known to be an outgoing and fun loving bunch. The bar atmosphere of Madison Bear Garden takes this attitude and makes it a memorable experience for all its patrons that leaves them coming back time and time again.

Madeline Merlic can be reached at [email protected] or@MMerlic on Twitter.