“My job is not easy,” he said. “Harvard students come from 50 states and there are so many different IDs.”

Adiari I. Vazquez ’05, who said she goes to Louie’s at least once a week, said she usually sees Chen ask students for 2 forms of ID before selling them alcohol. “I’ve never seen him sell to underage students,” she added.

Still, many Mather residents are attracted to Louie’s because of his selection of alcoholic beverages.

Catherine L. H. Matthews ’07 said she goes to Louie’s about once a week to buy cigarettes or alcohol, and Peter J. Martinez ’07 said he intends to buy alcohol there as soon as he turns 21.

Marie E. Burks ’06 said that while the students she knows who frequent Louie’s go mainly to buy alcohol, she prefers to shop elsewhere.

“I don’t buy a lot of alcohol, and they have a limited selection of groceries,” she said

Chen also said he suspects students may be scared to go to his store after hearing about several armed robberies that have occurred there in recent years.

Yet increased police presence in the area has also scared students away, according to Neil N. “Buddy” Shah ’05, who said many students think the police go to Louie’s to make sure he is not selling alcohol to minors.

“They should try to protect [Chen], not bust him,” Shah said.

Students added they would miss the store if it closed, partly because they enjoy talking to Chen.

“I’d be upset if [Louie’s] closed…He’s a nice guy, he always talks to me,” said Matthews.

Vazquez called Louie’s “one of the best things that Mather has,” adding that Chen “is such a great person. I talk to him about world politics all the time. I’d be really sad to lose him.”