Coral Gables, a nearly century-old East Lansing staple, will be closing its doors on June 30. 

The restaurant first opened in the 1920s as a roadhouse, before expanding into the music scene in the '40s and '50s with appearances by the Ink Spots and Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra. The Vanis family assumed ownership in 1968. 

The decision to shutter Coral Gables had been in the works for a while, but the June 2 closure announcement shocked the local East Lansing community.

"It's just one of those things where, at some point in life, you decide that maybe you've been here long enough, and it might be time to move on," Coral Gables co-owner Stuart Vanis said.

Following the announcement, the Coral Gables team has been playing catch-up as East Lansing residents and Michigan State University alumni flood the restaurant to grab one last meal before its permanent closure.

The response has been “overwhelming," Vanis said.

Manager Brian DeRath said that customers have begun coming in three to four times a week. People who come in all the time or those who haven’t been in years are coming back to “re-experience" the restaurant, he said.

Vanis worked at Coral Gables for 35 years, but frequented it often as a child when his dad and uncle first purchased the restaurant. Under his dad’s ownership, Vanis said the restaurant was a part of their family.

Over the years, Vanis has watched the establishment grow from a campus hotspot to a banquet hall for large events and, finally, into a family-oriented restaurant and bar. 

“It's kind of changed with the times, also with the age of the ownership,” Vanis said. “A lot of the people who were coming in the ‘60s and ‘70s, they are still coming today.”