The Luzetta and Del Newkirk Cafe and Gift Shop inside the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art will be closed for the remainder of the semester, IU Dining announced Sunday. It is expected to reopen for the spring semester.
This comes three weeks after the reopening of the Eskenazi Museum, which had been closed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The museum is already operating at limited capacity, with the gallery only being open four days per week. The closure of the cafe is a result of the guidelines put in place by the university.
Indoor dining at the university and in all public spaces has been prohibited, according to a statement from IU Dining. Students are permitted to eat in outdoor spaces, including the museum’s terrace, provided they follow social distancing.
The museum underwent renovations beginning in 2015 after receiving a $30 million donation from namesakes of the museum, Sidney and Lois Eskenazi. The museum opened in November 2019 following a three-year redesign with the addition of the Luzetta and Del Newkirk Cafe.
The cafe offers soups, sandwiches, baked goods and locally sourced Brown County coffee.
