Beer and wine sales have returned to the Colorado State University Pueblo campus thanks to a new wood-fired pizza restaurant.

With the opening of Da Brix Fired-Up Pizza, which held its grand opening in the Occhiato Student Center on Friday, CSU Pueblo has its first on-campus restaurant serving alcohol in nearly a decade.

"What we have decided is we will be doing beer and wine after (5 p.m.)," said Donna Souder Hodge, vice president of operations and advancement at CSU Pueblo. "It's not lunchtime beer and wine, but I think these are things that will evolve … We are going to use the summer to test some things out."

During the summer, Da Brix will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on most days. Souder Hodge said the restaurant will experiment with later closing times on some weekends throughout the summer and plans to be open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays during the fall semester.

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"We arranged the student center so that we can close off the student center at 9 p.m., still keep Da Brix open and still have students over there playing pool," she said. "We have got a jukebox going in ... we are working on some patio games and some other things that we think students will really appreciate that will be a lot of fun.

"Of course, we'd love to have our community members choose this as a great food option for dinner or lunch, too."

While CSU Pueblo has served alcohol on campus in recent years at galas and special events through a liquor license with food service provider Aladdin Campus Dining, Da Brix will be the first on-campus restaurant to serve beer and wine since the university shut down its Underground dining area for renovations.

"When I first got here as an acting professor ... we still had an active Underground," Souder Hodge said. "We had a Pizza Hut, we served beer downstairs, students could play pool ... It was kind of a different environment. I think campus changed a little bit in those years after."

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Da Brix, which in addition to beer, wine and pizza will feature chicken wings, submarine sandwiches and other pub-style foods, is located in the Occhiato Student Center in a dining area that was previously occupied by Tacos Navarro, a local Mexican food restaurant,

"(Tacos Navarro) has been a great partner," Souder Hodge said. "We will still keep using them. They are really wonderful."

Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached by email at JBartolo@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: 'Da Brix' pizza restaurant will serve beer, wine on CSU Pueblo campus