Most of the shelves at The Oasis were bare. Student workers didn’t have much to sell, but they stood behind the counter anyway, waiting for 3 p.m. when the doors would be locked for good.

Although Ohio University’s Dining Services could continue to operate The Oasis while its proposal is pending, the department closed the 102-year-old building in preparation for the new student center.

“It’s pretty much out of our hands now,” said Christine Sheets, assistant vice president for Auxiliary Services. “We’re pretty much done with (The Oasis).”

The news of The Oasis’ closure has drawn criticism from its customers.

Winfried Just, a mathematics professor, will miss The Oasis’ convenience. “It’s the only close place to us to eat,” he said. “If it closes, every other place to eat is far away.”

Laura Hagenbaugh, a junior and an Oasis employee, will miss the restaurant’s charm. “It’s kind of quirky,” she said. “It adds character to the university.”

Oasis employees were informed the day Dining Services submitted their plan and were offered jobs elsewhere on campus. Dining Services wanted to make sure their Oasis employees weren’t without jobs if the decision was made to close the building later in the year, Sheets said.

“This way, we know the students get to keep their same job, get their training on time and won’t miss any days,” she said. “If we didn’t close until March, for example, not as many jobs would be available.

Oasis employees were given top-priority status for jobs in the new Baker University Center and will maintain their same pay level and job status, Sheets said.

Maria Iannarino, a senior and student manager at The Oasis, declined the invitation. She is leading the “Save The Oasis” campaign, which has its own Web site and a 1,268-member group on Facebook.

“I personally feel very discouraged and defeated by the decision to close the building so early,” she said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they doze the building to the ground and sold parking spots.”

Dining Services plans to remake the hangout into a combination whole foods and technology store would sell salads, baked goods and coffee alongside flash drives and other computer accessories.

“The technology part wasn’t a part of our plan at first,” Sheets said. “We started with the food component because of the convenience factor for students and proximity to classes.”

Dining Services spent several months surveying students before submitting their proposal to William Decatur, vice president for Finance and Administration. In a survey conducted by www.surveymonkey.com, 62.9 percent of the respondents chose a grocery store to replace The Oasis restaurant. The second highest response was the technology-food combination, Sheets said.

“We decided to host a supplemental functioning unit with the GoMobile program to fill some basic technology needs for students,” Sheets said. “We’ll also focus on providing natural and organic foods. Should this proposal be approved, we will survey students and conduct focus groups to determine what our best options are.”

Showing its age

The 102-year-old building is in need of renovations to fix damage from a leaky roof and water line break and fix outdated plumbing and electric systems. The needed repairs are too intensive for OU officials to address while The Oasis is operational.

“It’s bad, but it doesn’t prevent us from operating right now,” Sheets said. “The water main break and roof leak are two critical things that need to be addressed. They’re not minor renovations.”

The renovations would cost an estimated $1.1 million and the new facility would operate at a 1 to 4 percent deficit for at least a year, according to an Oct. 11 Post story.