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While most students were reveling in the lazy days following fall quarter finals, a minor battle took place on the first floor of Ackerman Union.

Insects were discovered in the kitchen of the Sbarro eatery on campus, causing the restaurant to close down for two days in December.

“The campus kitchen was clean and our store was clean, but (the insects) found a place to hide in the walls,” said Tony Missano, the president of business development for Sbarro Corporation. “There was an area in the middle of the kitchen where the insects were living.”

As soon as the problem was identified, the Los Angeles County health inspector mandated a 48-hour closure to clean up the infestation.

Once Sbarro was made aware of the problem, the restaurant called a national exterminator to fix the infestation.

Missano declined to identify the exterminator.

“The goal is to keep the restaurant clean, so when (this) happened, we quickly cleaned it up. We would not be open if it wasn’t safe. It’s our responsibility to keep a great restaurant,” Missano said.

Before the discovery of the insects, the eatery was designated a “Grade A” restaurant.

Though Missano said the majority of Sbarro restaurants are given the highest grade, the Sbarro eatery at UCLA was lowered to “Grade B” status.

“I believe Sbarro will have the opportunity to move up to being a ‘Grade A’ (eatery) again,” said Roy Champawat, associate director of Associated Students UCLA Food Services. “(ASUCLA) tries to partner with and work with our tenants to make sure they are doing good work.”

A tenant of the first floor of Ackerman for the last seven years, Sbarro has never encountered an insect infestation like this before.

“It was a freak thing; we were all caught by surprise,” Missano said.

In early December 2006, both Taco Bell and Jamba Juice in Ackerman Union encountered health problems, as they both received shipments of bacteria-contaminated ingredients.

Jamba Juice halted shipments from the carrier of contaminated strawberries and Taco Bell stopped using green onions that were possibly infected by E. coli bacteria.

Such precautions are common to Ackerman Union, Champawat said.

“We expect any of our tenants to address any health issues,” Champawat said.

“We expect them to maintain their area to the satisfaction of the county health inspector,” he said.

He added that ASUCLA’s relations with Sbarro would not change because of the recent insect scare.

“Unless a restaurant is able to demonstrate to the L.A. County health inspector that the concern that brought about the closure is fixed, the store will not be allowed to reopen,” Champawat said.

“Since this incident has been properly addressed, it won’t affect our relations.”

Peter Gjerset, a third-year English student and a regular of the Ackerman eateries, said the insect infestation at Sbarro will not deter him from eating at Sbarro.

“It doesn’t bother me. I trust (Sbarro) to make food that isn’t going to make me sick,” Gjerset said. “I trust they’re doing the best they can.”