Gumseng restaurant, an Asian American restaurant located at 1314 W. Johnson St., will close its doors for good Dec. 21 as plans begin for the major renovation of Union South, which will begin in 2009.
May Truong, manager of Gumseng restaurant, said she was aware the building would eventually have to be torn down, but said she was given no reason by the building's owner, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, as to why the restaurant's lease could not be renewed for another year.
We don't know anything,"" she said. ""All we were told is that we can't renew the lease.""
Janet Kelly, communications director for WARF, said Gumseng managers were notified in December 2005 that the restaurant would need to vacate its leased space by February 2007.
""Since this lease expired 10 months ago, WARF has allowed the restaurant to remain in the building and continue operations without a lease,"" Kelly said via e-mail.
""The building is in poor condition '¦ and continued occupation by any tenant, particularly one that serves food to the public, could be harmful to both the tenant and its customers.""
Kelly said WARF notified Gumseng managers with the information two years ago so they would have time to relocate.
""We communicated this information by following a standard procedure of sending a legal notification letter, which does not address a landlord's reasons for the change,"" Kelly said.
Truong said the restaurant has no plans to relocate.
""It's kind of disappointing,"" she said, ""All of campus is pretty much bought by WARF now, like with University Square; they took all the businesses and tore it down and built a new commercial square. I feel like all the small businesses are going to leave.""
Marc Kennedy, communications director for the Wisconsin Union, said it is ""part of the plan"" for Randall Towers - o - othe building that currently occupies Gumseng - to come down as reconstruction for a new Union South begins, but other ""nearby businesses won't start closing until up to a year from now.""
He said Union South will not be torn down until February 2009, with reconstruction beginning the following June and a new structure ready for occupancy by March 2011.
Shayna Hetzel, a graduate intern at Union South who has been involved in the building project since 2005, also said the Union South expansion will eventually encompass the area currently occupied by Randall Towers, and will extend through the triangle where Johnson Street meets Campus Drive.
Kennedy said he had not heard of any nearby businesses expressing frustration about the new renovation.
""Actually, I'm sure that local restaurants are already planning to take advantage of it,"" he said, adding the new union would likely attract more people to the area. ""It'll be up to us to make sure we don't lose those former customers when the building goes back up.
