With the Hideaway's lease up and new owners nowhere to be found, the longtime campus establishment sits idle while the future of its space remains uncertain.
Discouraged by low profits and an unwillingness by the administration to restructure their lease, last year's Hideaway owners chose not to pursue new ownership before their one-year operating agreement with the University expired May 31. No new owners stepped forward, and as a result the 27-year-old campus bar now sits empty.
"We didn't think it was financially feasible for owners to make a large profit next year, and we didn't want to sell a bad investment," said senior John Hudson, one of last year's owners.
In their negotiations with administrators, owners attempted to spread out payment on a debt to the University passed down by previous Hideaway proprietors. The structuring of the debt prevented owners from making a significant profit, Hudson said, and reduced their incentive to make improvements to the bar.
Jeffrey Potter, director of real estate administration and manager of the 1998 lease agreement for the University, said restructuring was unnecessary. "We didn't see a need to renegotiate the lease while it was still so fresh," he said.
Hudson said the owners' financial
The bar's closing will likely be permanent unless new owners appear in the fall. But administrators are already focusing on other uses for the Hideaway's West Union space.
"It's certainly going to be a student space. We just don't know what kind," said Tallman Trask, executive vice president.
He said purview over the space may eventually be transferred to Student Affairs, but that a final decision is unlikely before August, when incoming vice president for student affairs Larry Moneta arrives.
Moneta declined to comment on the Hideaway's prospects, but the closing will likely leave a void in social options on campus.
"The owners seem to suggest that the business is not there to maintain the Hideaway, but at least some students say that [the closing] could turn out to be a loss," said Sue Wasiolek, assistant vice president for student affairs. "I guess the real question is how great a loss it might be, and how might that void be filled by other options."
The bar's closing comes at a time when the University is already reevaluating student space. Last month, a committee recommended establishing a multicultural center in the planned Bryan Center addition and expanding the Mary Lou Williams Center, located in the West Union basement near the Hideaway.
With that report and the impending construction, the University is poised for a major shift in student space allocation.
Figuring out long-term use of the Hideaway space may still be at least a year away. In the short term, however, Duke Student Government President C.J. Walsh said he will work with administrators and other student representatives over the summer to fill any social void.
"We support an establishment that serves alcohol in a responsible manner to Duke students, whether it's in the Hideaway or some other place," Walsh said. Although the Armadillo Grill will maintain its bar next year, Walsh said he always prefers competition.
In addition, Dave Sanford, franchise owner of The Loop, confirmed that he has applied for a beer and wine license for next year, but that the application has not yet been approved.
Sanford, however, said he did not think The Loop would effectively replace the Hideaway as a late-night hangout for students.
"I certainly don't expect it to turn into a bar," Sanford said. "I expect Armadillo Grill to benefit more from that."
Kevin Lees contributed to this story.
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