‘Louie’ Back Behind Counter

When Cheng-san Chen officially left management of Louie’s Superette in the hands of another, it was very nearly the end of an era: No one expected to see the Taiwan native and applied mathematics Ph.D. behind the counter again. But after over six months of protracted courtroom battles and mountains of paperwork, Chen, known to Harvard students as the one and only “Louie,” is back where he says he belongs.

After his first official day back in business on Monday, Chen says he is returning his small store to its former glory “step by step.”

“I have really missed being a part of the Harvard community,” said Chen of his two-year absence managing the store. “It means a lot to me to be a member of the neighborhood again.”

Chen handed over ownership of the Superette, which is across from Mather House on the corner of Cowperthwaite and Surrey Streets, to Pritam “Tony” S. Saini in July 2005. While Chen retained ownership of the Superette’s real estate, Saini took over as store manager. A few months later, however, it became clear that things were not going as Chen had hoped.

In late March 2007, Chen took legal action against Saini for failing to make payment on a $130,000 loan and four months’ worth of rent. A Cambridge District Court judge has since handed a victory to Chen, who repossessed the store and is restocking and refurbishing the property. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. temporarily, until he can extend his hours to stay open until 11 p.m.

“It has basically been abandoned since April,” said Chen of the store’s condition. “I had a lot of things to do. The liquor license was delayed for six weeks because the licensing commission thought my store was a restaurant. I had to go through the whole process again. Now I have it and the cigarette license, and I am ready for customers to come back.”

This isn’t the first time Chen has been troubled by liquor licenses. A few years ago, Chen was arrested and his license was suspended for 12 days for selling alcohol to minors.

Still, Chen has fond memories of operating his store for 18 years in the shadow of Mather House, which went so far as to name the annual “Louie’s Cup” in the store’s honor. Chen has taken to decorating his store with foreign tender given to him by students in the wake of 1993 fire that nearly burned his store to the ground.

“Other stores have come and gone in the 18 years I’ve run my business, but I am still here,” said Chen. “If Harvard ever asked me to speak at the university, that would be the title of my speech: ‘How To Run a Small Store Next to Harvard.’”

—Staff writer Siodhbhra M. Parkin can be reached at sparkin@fas.harvard.edu.