Macri’s Deli auctions all in closeout sale

A smattering of oversized beer mugs, Bobby Knight illustrations and IU men’s basketball beer cozies are all that is left of Macri’s Deli.\nThe restaurant, located at 1221 S. College Mall Rd., closed last week. Owner Jeff Badalich commissioned Jimmie Dean Coffey Auctions and Realty to auction everything in the store. \nThe auction, held Wednesday, attracted mainly two types of buyers: memorabilia fans and restaurateurs looking to buy kitchen equipment.\nRuss Lindsey, treasurer of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity alumni association, paid $220 for a framed IU banner embroidered with patches representing each IU men’s basketball NCAA championship title.\nLindsey admitted it was a steep price, but said the banner and other framed photographs he purchased were decorations for the fraternity. \nBloomington resident Matt Roush paid $125 for a photograph of Bobby Knight and former basketball player Landon Turner, a Rita Bomba painting of former IU football Coach Gerry DiNardo and an autographed photo of late IU football coach Terry Hoeppner .\n“I was pretty happy to get out of there with (the painting) for $40,” Roush said. “With all the people that showed up, it would probably be double that soon.”\nRoush said he planned on sending one of the items to his parents and decorating his home bar with the others.\nRobert Johnson, a manager of Puccini’s La Dolce Vita on Fourth Street, was looking for cheap kitchen items. Puccini’s will soon split its restaurant and resources in half to offer Ethiopian cuisine.\nJohnson said he heard about the auction from a colleague, and was surprised to hear about the restaurant’s closure.\nAccording to the terms and conditions of the auction distributed by Jimmie Dean Coffey Auctions, Kroger is taking over the space because Badalich did not renew his lease for the space. \nBadalich took a job as a counselor and hockey coach at Culver Military Academy in Culver, Ind. Neither Badalich nor any of the managerial staff of Macri’s could be reached for comment.