Sobelman’s at Marquette will close its doors permanently at the end of the semester, the university has confirmed.
The restaurant, which opened on Marquette’s campus in 2011 will not renew its lease to the Marquette-owned building.
There is no information regarding what business will take over the lease and move into the space come next year, however, Sobelman’s will continue to operate out of their St. Paul Ave. location.
Last Fall, Sobelman’s faced closure due to “lack of staff, especially servers.” Barstool Marquette shared in an instagram post encouraging Marquette community members to apply to work there.
“My first meal ever on Marquette’s campus was Sobelman’s, and I will never forget how much I loved it and me and my friend Ella went there every Sunday because we just loved it so much,” Mary Murray, a sophomore in the College of Nursing, said.
Murray said that she will support them as much as she can over the next month while the Marquette location is still open.
“I think it holds a lot of history in Milwaukee, and I would love to try and help them out as much as I can while they are still open. I would tell people to ‘go in and try the mac and cheese burger’ and then talk to the staff in there,” Murray said.
While some students said that they were shocked to hear the news, one student saw it coming.
“It’s a bummer really, it is like a campus staple,” Trevor Strickler, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said. “I feel like I saw this happening given the hours and stuff like that it was kind of sad to see them struggling.”
Strickler said that management has previously hinted at closing.
“I know my girlfriend said that they almost closed back in 2020, but that was during COVID-19,” Strickler said.
While the news has been a shock for current students, Marquette alumni have also been impacted by Sobelman’s future closing.
Katie Delia, a Marquette graduate, said that Sobelman’s may have never recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, but they never made it clear.
“They never let on what was going on, but they always rallied the community when things were getting tough,” Delia said. “After the restrictions were lifted (during COVID-19) I just wonder if it never really got back to the way it was before.”
Delia was an avid customer all four years of her tenure at Marquette, and said that its uniqueness was what kept her going back.
“It was something a little different and a little more special than anything else you could get on campus without leaving campus,” Delia said.
The Marquette Wire reached out to the owners of Sobelman’s at Marquette, but they wish to make a statement at a later time.
This story is developing
This story was written by TJ Dysart. He can be reached at [email protected]
