Lee Street Deli owner denies shop is closing
The CEO of the company that owns Lee Street Deli in East Campus said Tuesday that claims of the deli’s closure and firing of staff are untrue. He said Twitter and Facebook pages claiming to be the deli’s official pages are not. He also said the deli is closed, but only temporarily for cleaning and maintainence that is performed every summer.
Starting Monday evening, a Twitter page appearing to be for the deli had displayed several messages indicating that the deli was closing permanently.
“RIP LSD,” stated the first update, posted around 8 p.m. Monday. “Pour one out for us.”
At about the same time, a Facebook page for the deli reported that all staff had been fired.
“all [sic] deli employees were informed via the people in charge in a very nice, passive way that we were all fired with no reasoning, and now the deli is closed. we appreciate everyone's support over the past 80+ years, and we will see what comes,” the LSD Facebook page stated.
An hour later, another update was posted to the Twitter page, elaborating on the situation.
“Rumors are true, our doors may be closing forever,” it stated. “Apparently ‘Since 1927’ just doesn't mean what it used to. Please voice your opinion!” the page stated.
An update posted around 9 a.m. said the deli was being converted to an apartment.
“@WillieFH (Willie’s Field House) owned the deli already, but gave no notice and fired everyone and we've heard they're making the deli an apartment," the Twitter page stated.
On Tuesday afternoon, Lance Morrow, the CEO of Fieldhouse Inc., which owns Lee Street Deli, said the postings were false.
“That is false,” he said. “That is not an official Lee Street Deli Twitter. This is obviously something they put together. Obviously, I’ll have to have a talk with some of them.”
He said the deli is closed, but only for a few days for summer cleaning that Morrow said he has done each year before students return in the fall.
“We are opening back up,” he said. “Monday is our target date, but we may open even sooner than that.”
Morrow said one person, the general manager of Lee Street Deli, had lost their job and said that might have prompted the Twitter postings.
“That’s the person who was relieved of duty and that’s where I think we may be getting our wires crossed,” he said.
