Maude's closes after 21 years

To the dismay of many students and Ann Arbor residents, Maude's restaurant closed its doors permanently on Sunday night.

"I am saddened that it closed," said LSA senior Binh An Phan. "I like Maude's. It was a nice place. The service was good and the food was good."

The South Fourth Street restaurant's closing came as a surprise to many in the University community.

"I didn't even know it was closing," said Kinesiology junior Aparna Sukhtankar. "I thought they were just restoring it."

Maude's owners, Main Street Ventures' Dennis Serras, Dieter Boehm and Mike Gibbons, decided to close it during its twenty-first year to open a new Mexican restaurant called Arriba, said Barb McCoy, former general manager of Maude's.

MALLORY S.E. FLOYD/Daily Jeremy Feskorn, who worked as a chef at Maude's restaurant, stands in front of the permanently-closed restaurant. Maude's closed its doors Sunday night.

"They didn't want Maude's to go out bad," said McCoy, the new general manager of Arriba. They decided to open Arriba because "there's no good Mexican restaurant in town."

Serras, Boehm and Gibbons also own Real Seafood Company, Gratzi and Palio, in addition to restaurants across Michigan and the United States.

Arriba, scheduled to open March 4, will aim to capture the college crowd by appealing to a 15-to 40-year-old age group, McCoy said.

"We welcome students here," McCoy said.

The owners are renovating and redecorating the interior of the restaurant to create a more festive, colorful atmosphere, said Dorothy McLeod, an administrative assistant at Main Street Ventures.

"They are even going to have little chili lights," McLeod said.

In the midst of this celebratory atmosphere, patrons will be able to enjoy reasonably priced meals.

The average meal will range from $5-$13, McCoy said.

A live mariachi band will play during Arriba's opening and most likely once or twice every week after that, McLeod said.

Arriba will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Area Mexican restaurant employees said Arriba's opening will not have a significant impact on their business.

"It probably won't affect us," said Carol Reid, a hostess at Tio's Restaurant on Huron Street.

Owners of businesses surrounding Arriba's said they welcome the restaurant.

"Although we'll miss Maude's, we're looking forward to the new establishment," said Robert Overmyer, owner of Overmyer's gallery on East Liberty St.

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