The Village Bell on South University was the most popular campus watering hole for many years. In the late 60's and early 70's the line waiting to get in extended down the street towards Washtenaw. The "V-Bell" had a quiet bar on the street level, but most student patrons hurried down the curved brick lined stairway to the downstairs bar with it's unique arched and carpeted ceiling. Though crowded on Friday and Saturday nights, by far the busiest night was Thursday when the Fraternity and Sorority crowd would get a jump on the weekend with post TGIF party revelry. Many a U of M student celebrated their "Bell" (21st birthday, when they could offically drink alcohol legally) at the V-Bell. It was a tradition started at the Pretzel Bell in downtown Ann Arbor, also owned by the Clint Castor family.
During the day the V-Bell was packed with the lunch time business crowd, both upstairs and down. The most ordered item was Chef Abner's thick and delicious New England Clam Chowder. The V-Bell was closed for renovations on several occasions after kitchen fires. It also felt competition from the Blue Frogge and Second Chance bars which opened in the mid 70's. No longer a campus bar, the V-Bell location has more recently been an Uno's pizza parlor.