By
Rebecca Missel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Louie's Lower Level will likely not reopen, director says
With a scorched deep fryer and damaged fire extinguishing system, Louie's Lower Level restaurant may remain permanently closed.
The grease fire Wednesday shut down the Memorial Student Union for four hours and may have forced the eatery to shut down forever.
"After the numbers I'm hearing, the decision leans toward not reopening," said Dan Adams, director of the Arizona Student Unions. "The biggest concern with us is diminishing returns."
He estimated the costs for repair may be more than $100,000.
"It's just not worth doing it," Adams said.
A forensic appraiser from the state will be sent out to determine the exact source of the fire and the repair costs, said Steve Holland, director of risk management and safety.
"The issue is whether it makes sense (to renovate) a space that will be dismantled in a couple months," he said. "We might just convert the area into a salad bar."
Since food services in the Memorial Student Union will relocate to make space for construction in March, Louie's Lower Level would only reopen for a short time.
"They would have taken it out anyway," said Jessica Kuenzli, pre-nursing freshman. "Money-wise, I say don't bring it back, but food-wise they should."
Kuenzli also said that she would likely eat at the Memorial Student Union less often because of the decreased number of options and higher congestion at remaining eateries.
"I only ate at Louie's a few times, but it was pretty packed when I went," said Mike Rudolph, finance sophomore. "There will probably be a little problem with lunch because there's one less area."
Besides the issues of crowding, other students were disappointed because certain foods were only available at Louie's Lower Level.
"I'll miss it - they were the only ones who had the chicken strips," said Elizabeth Melendez, a public administration freshman. "Louie's was the place to go when you got tired of the Fig."
