Butler’s ego wasn’t the only thing damaged Monday night.
Campus restaurants Tommy’s Rubs and Grubs and Armadillo Grill reported damages from students celebrating the men’s basketball team’s NCAA Tournament Championship victory, costing owners thousands of dollars in clean-up and repair fees.
At Tommy’s, three out of five outdoor tables, a wooden picnic bench and a leather couch were pushed over a railing of McClendon Tower, said Tommy’s owner Tom Meyer, Trinity ’91. Inside the restaurant, ceiling tiles, tables, chairs and light fixtures were broken, decorations were damaged and beer was sprayed over the entire restaurant. Meyer said monitors and public safety officials were able to keep the situation relatively under control until three to four minutes before the end of the game.
As an alumnus, Meyer sympathized with the enthusiasm of the students but thought their behavior was inappropriate.
“The most disappointing thing for me is that we’ve gone out of our way to make a place where they can be loud and have a good time. I was just disappointed they went beyond that to destruction for no reason,” he said.
The restaurant has been cleaned up, but cost of the damage might amount to about $10,000, Meyer said.
Damages were less serious at Armadillo Grill. One chair was broken, a glass of beer was thrown at the ceiling and there was “more trash than you can imagine,” Assistant Manager Sam Sills said. He said the glass of beer shattered on impact, causing shards of glass to fall on the crowd of students, but no one was hurt. Campus security officials were monitoring the situation from the entrance.
Sills said that although it sometimes seems like students do not have a lot of respect for restaurant employees, the situation merely represented college students having a good time.
“[The evening’s sales] kind of make up for all of the work we have to do,” he said.
The Duke University Police Department will review the incident reports today, said DUPD Assistant Chief Gloria Graham. She said no criminal charges have been filed against students.
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