VIDALIA &045; Prime real estate along the Vidalia riverfront is available: Lorraine’s restaurant has closed.

Owner Lorraine Stalians said she is disappointed the business did not survive, but she has had a few prospects interested in buying the building, located between the Comfort Suites and Riverpark Medical Center.

&uot;I’m very disappointed,&uot; Stalians said. &uot;It’s a loss for me, and it’s a loss for Vidalia, too. A lot of tourists were sent over there from Natchez to have a beautiful meal and beautiful scenery. Š Now they won’t have that.&uot;

Lorraine’s, originally billed as an upscale restaurant with sweeping views of the Mississippi River and Natchez, was one of the first businesses to open on the revitalized riverfront development.

Vidalia Marketing Director Glen McGlothin said he has encouraged developers to look at the site.

&uot;Some people have been interested in it,&uot; he said. &uot;Everybody hates (that it closed). I wish it had worked.&uot;

This is just the latest professional disappointment for Stalians, whose McDonald’s restaurant was destroyed by fire last summer. The cause was never determined, according to fire investigators. McDonald’s officials have said they will rebuild on the site.

As for Stalians, she said she plans to move to Las Vegas, where her parents recently moved, and will return to the marketing field. A California native, she lived in Vidalia for about 20 years.

&uot;I considered it my home,&uot; she said.

Stalians said she believes one of the reasons Lorraine’s did not survive is a lack of local support. While tourists often dined there, she said, &uot;local people don’t appreciate the view as much. They take things like that for granted.&uot;

But Stalians said she looks forward to &uot;starting a new life.&uot;

&uot;They old saying is, ‘When one door closes, another one opens,’&uot; she said.