Chick-Fil-A to close in May 2013

Chick-Fil-A will not return to campus effective the end of academic year, Rick Johnson, associate vice president of housing and dining, said.

The chain restaurant, along with Subway, will not have a place in the events pavilion that will temporarily host vendors during West Union Building renovations, scheduled to begin summer 2013, he said. The cost of building and then removing a fast food chain was too high to justify a place for either vendor.

Both restaurants will also not return to the new West Union, because the building will no longer host national fast food chains, Johnson added.

Duke Dining officials made the decision last year, before the controversy in July surrounding Chick-Fil-A CEO Dan Cathy's comments in opposition to same-sex marriage, Johnson noted.

Johnson said he received three emails from members of the Duke community calling for the restaurant to close.

"I told them it's a moot point because their contract is up at the end of the year," Johnson said. "That seemed to satisfy them."