Maloney’s Tavern, on University Drive just east of Rural Road, temporarily closed Saturday but will reopen this fall with a new image, restaurant officials said.

The Tempe location will shut its doors for the time being while new concepts are explored for rebranding the bar and grill, said Oliver Badgio, director of brand integrity for the company.

The decision to close was prompted by a desire to capture a more current and refreshed image for the location, he said.

Exactly how the tavern will be re-conceptualized and when it will be reopened have not been fully determined, Badgio said.

“It’s not going to be the same Maloney’s, but where [the image] is going, I don’t exactly know,” he said.

There are no intentions to permanently close or relocate the tavern, Badgio said, because it has been so positively received by the Tempe and ASU communities over the years.

“Maloney’s has been part of campus scenery and landscape for quite a while, and … we want to bring it back as something more spectacular,” he said.

Iris McCune, a tourism senior, said she frequently went to Maloney’s on Thursday nights, where the bar was always “jam-packed” with college students.

McCune said she would be open to a change in the tavern’s image if it were more of a remodeling effort to make the often-crowded tavern bigger.

But she said she felt Maloney’s concept was already apt for their market and was surprised that the owners felt the need to make a change if they intended to keep the same crowd.

“It seems a little odd that they would [temporarily] close and try to reimage themselves, unless they’re trying to find a new niche market,” McCune said.

The Tempe location is currently removed from the Maloney’s Web site.

Reach the reporter at trabens@asu.edu.