UK prepares to bid K Lair farewell
November 12, 2012
By Amelia Orwick
UK is preparing to say goodbye to its oldest eatery, as officials announced its demolition last month.
K Lair, a grill on Hilltop Avenue on South Campus, will be torn down along with Haggin Hall as a part of plans for Phase II-A of UK’s public-private housing partnership, clearing the way for new residence halls.
A new Haggin Hall is planned where Haggin and K Lair now stand. Officials plan to fill the dining void with a glass structure there, temporarily being called Haggin Pavilion, that will offer more dining options.
The pavilion will be along a bus line, making it accessible for both students and nonstudents. Robert Mock, UK’s vice president for student affairs, expects K Lair to come down in summer of 2013.
The decision to tear down K Lair came shortly after the grill was renovated for about $50,000 before the start of last school year. Plans for the renovation began before the plans for Phase II-A were ever considered.
“We have to continually think about our current environment not knowing absolutely when we’re going to have something new and better,” Mock said.
The renovations were not a factor in the decision to tear down the building, Mock insisted.
“Fifty-thousand is very small compared to the scope of a large multimillion-dollar facility,” he said.
The elimination of K Lair leaves Ovids Café and Commons as the dining options for students on South Campus. The university is considering options, such as temporary buildings and mobile facilities, to provide students with a dining alternative until Haggin Pavilion is complete.
In making a decision, officials will spend time looking at other schools of comparable size, such as the University of Tennessee and Ohio State University, to see how they handled similar situations.
Faculty, staff, students and alumni will miss the grill, which has been a staple on campus for more than 50 years.
“I lived in Donovan as a freshman, so it was my go-to place,” said integrated strategic communication and Spanish junior Nicole Brown. “I’ll be sad to see it go, but campus is always changing, so I’m not surprised. Hopefully it’ll be replaced with something better.”
