By Linda Bailey, Student Reporter

Students seeking electronics or Italian food in Abilene are losing options. Both Circuit City and Spaghetti Warehouse are going out of business.

Circuit City, the nation’s No. 2 electronics seller after Best Buy, filed for bankruptcy last November. Spaghetti Warehouse, located in the Mall of Abilene, closed Feb. 2 after its corporate office chose not to renew the restaurant’s lease.

Ken Terry, assistant manager of Circuit City, said the store on Ridgemont Drive does not have a set date to close, but it will probably be at the end of March.

Kristen Bell, junior accounting major from Waco, said she preferred Circuit City to Best Buy and was sad to hear it was closing.

“I bought a computer and camera there for cheaper than Best Buy,” Bell said. “The customer service was always really helpful too.”

Terry said the Abilene’s Circuit City was the company’s No. 10 or 11 store. He also said the community supported the store, but money and the economic situation were the main reasons for shutting down.

Circuit City is offering special sales to empty the store of merchandise. Items in the store ranged anywhere from 10-50 percent off.

Students craving Italian food also have one less option in Abilene. Spaghetti Warehouse left its location in the Mall of Abilene in the beginning of February. Morgan Akens, junior education major from Abilene, did not expect the restaurant to close.

“I am surprised they went out of business because they always looked busy,” Akens said.

Brett Walker, senior youth and family ministry major from Irving, was surprised to hear the news that Spaghetti Warehouse was closing. He said he preferred it to other Italian restaurants in town, but he thought its location in the mall was part of the reason it closed.

“I kind of think that the fad of the mall is going out, and it is turning into all teenage stores,” Walker said.

While people no longer have the option of eating at Spaghetti Warehouse, they still can enjoy Italian food at Joe’s Pizza, Little Italy, Spano’s, Olive Garden, Fazoli’s and Johnny Carino’s.