The headline on March 9 informed us that Lai Lai – the Chinese hole-in-the-wall restaurant that has called The Strip home since 1998 – would be closing, though it might as well have read “University forces out local business,” or maybe “University suffers self-inflicted wound to local culture.”

Refusing to allow Lai Lai to renew its lease on The Strip is a perplexing move, given that the University has not (and most likely will not) explain to anyone – Lai Lai management or otherwise – why exactly it is forcing Lai Lai off The Strip. One would think that, as an establishment that predates every member of the current student body, Nick Saban and even Dr. Witt himself, Lai Lai is at the very least owed an explanation.

If the University wants that space for a specific business, be it for another restaurant or, God forbid, another retail front for one of the many “premium” student-centric housing complexes around Tuscaloosa, why is it so difficult to announce that? It is unabashedly offensive to flat-out refuse to tell even the management why they cannot renew their lease on what has become one of The Strip’s landmarks.

To add insult to injury, the University has the gall to “allow” the owners to submit a Request for Proposals (along with any other business who desires the location) so that they may retain the location. What the article (and the University representative) does not point out is that even if Lai Lai somehow wins the bid, they would still have had to move out of the location beforehand before moving back in.

So much of any college town’s personality is based on the local businesses that operate there. While many towns can be identified with bars more than specific restaurants (looking at you, Athens), that doesn’t mean the local restaurants are any less important to the overall culture. When I have a friend from out of town visit, I don’t make it a point to take him to Pita Pit or Jimmy John’s, because those places already exist wherever he came from. No, I take him to places like Buffalo Phil’s, Crimson Café, or Lai Lai to show off the Tuscaloosa-specific dining.

There’s a reason nobody ever says, “Man, Tuscaloosa has some of the best pizza in the country” after leaving Hungry Howie’s. If The Strip is going to be packed with chain restaurants and retail fronts why even bother singling it out as a point for UA culture?

I also feel compelled to point out another implication of this forced exit that hadn’t occurred to me until I read a particular Tuscaloosa blog (yes, those exist): what about the international students? I’ve been to China and I’ve been to Lai Lai; I can say with certainty that the food served there is much more authentic than one found at a chain. It also doesn’t take hawk-like vision to see that Lai Lai is a favorite spot of UA’s sizable international student body.

While I suppose after three years I shouldn’t be shocked to say this, it isn’t any less frustrating: the University yet again is doing nothing more than posturing when it stresses the importance of “student unity.” Either that or the desire for unity only extends to the greek/independent divide while ignoring a significant minority.

If I was an owner of a business that had been operating on The Strip since 2007, I’d be scared. While there are currently no plans for moving or closing any of the other businesses, the University only said they agreed to honor the leases established by the previous owner. These leases end at different times; it just happens to be that Lai Lai’s is the first to expire. When the  leases do expire, though, don’t be surprised to see the University strong-arm these Tuscaloosa staples right off The Strip too.

John Davis is a junior majoring in bracketology. His column runs on Thursdays.