Lee just doesn't see it that way.

He says that Niles and Cambridgeport should have found some way to let the restaurant stay--at least through Commencement.

"I feel really bad for the seniors. I know a lot of them by face, if not by name," he says.

Lee says he fears that the restaurant's closing will put a damper on their social lives during their last spring in the Square.

"If you're used to going into a place and identify it with your college experience, it's just not fair to have it close a month before graduation," Lee says.

And with the April 14 date quickly approaching, Lee says the staff is already growing nostalgic.

About two weeks ago, he told his employees about the bar's unavoidable--and perhaps final--closing.

"It was only after we told them that it really started to hit home with us," Lee says. "We just started realizing that we wouldn't be here forever."

"There are just a lot of memories. It's definitely an ending for us," he continues.

But Niles seems unconcerned. He says he has simply done all he can for the business.

"It's a disruption for him, and it'll be expensive," Niles says. "But when the dust settles, it'll be fine."

Lee isn't so sure. When he speaks about the prospect of reopening, he simply seems discouraged.

"To tell you the truth, there are just so many stumbling blocks," Lee says. "We'll lose our whole staff, people will go on with their lives and it'll be really tough to reopen with other people."

--Staff writer Daniela J. Lamas can be reached at lamas@fas.harvard.edu.