Damon’s Grill off Corporate Boulevard was home to a family atmosphere and fun trivia for many students, but the good times ended when the restaurant recently closed.
Several former employees said their coworkers reported to Damon’s at 10 a.m. Jan. 26 to find the grill no longer was in business.
Some of the former workers said they thought the restaurant was in limbo after former franchise owner John Kosin died last year, but they did not expect the CitiPlace grill to close so quickly — and without any notification.
They were not sure exactly why Damon’s closed, but it seemed even their local managers did not know. Thursday’s Reveille national championship Special Commemorative Edition even included a Damon’s ad that marketed Thursday nights as “Tiger Night.”
Sarah Vicknair, a former Damon’s hostess and a psychology junior, said that instead of hearing an official explanation from regional managers or owners, employees found out through word of mouth from each other.
She said her manager lives in the same apartment complex where she lives. Her manager told her simply that the restaurant was closed.
“I had a phone list, so [I] called everybody,” Vicknair said.
Vicknair said she has not been able to find another job since Damon’s closed because other restaurants already hired workers for the current semester and do not need help.
“I’m still looking, and it’s been two weeks,” she said.
Former Damon’s employees received their final paychecks, but Vicknair still is worried about upcoming bills she will have to pay.
Money is not all Vicknair will miss about Damon’s. She will miss her coworkers — who were “like family” to her — and the customers who made Damon’s a regular part of their weekly schedules.
“Two weeks ago they came in when they usually do, and now it’s just closed,” she said. “It was just comfortable.”
Students who worked at Damon’s are not the only people who will miss the restaurant.
Spencer Alexander, a construction management senior, liked the electronic trivia games patrons could play on big-screen televisions.
“It was the only reason I went,” he said. “It was good because it gave you something to do while you wait on your food.”
The building that formerly housed Damon’s is for sale.
Latter and Blum realtors is marketing the building, and Beau Box is the listing agent for the real estate company.
Box said he could give no information about the building other than its listing price, which is about $2 million.
Before he died, former owner John Kosin had interests in seven Damon’s grills and 50 Wendy’s fast-food restaurants.
Rick Lench, who Box said now is the owner of the building, lives in Winchester, Va. He did not return phone calls about the closing of the Baton Rouge restaurant.