A downtown Brunswick staple is closing its doors after more than 30 years.

Joshua’s Restaurant and Tavern owner T.J. Siatras announced Monday that the business would be closing Saturday, Sept. 28. He said he expected a surge in business as longtime patrons come in to reminisce on decades of memories in the historic building.

“Our history and our duration probably speaks to why someone might be ready to leave the industry,” Siatras said.

Siatras and his wife are now empty-nesters, and their daughter is pursuing a degree and career outside the hospitality industry. It was a tough decision to make, but the long-time restaurant owners say they’ve decided to give up the property.

Siatras’ grandmother and father took over the space in 1956 when it was called Clare’s Grill. Over the years, the family converted it into a full-service restaurant. The name changed from Clare’s Grill to Clare’s Dolphin Restaurant and eventually just the Dolphin Restaurant before Siatras took it over, rebranding as Joshua’s.

Siatras graduated from Cornell University in 1985 with an undergraduate degree in hotel and restaurant administration. He then moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and worked as a housekeeping manager at The Ritz-Carlton. Siatras returned to Brunswick, and in 1990, he offered to help his parents start a new restaurant, which is how Joshua’s Restaurant and Tavern came to fruition 35 years ago.

The restaurant was named after Joshua Chamberlain, a Civil War commander, Maine governor and the sixth president of Bowdoin College.

“We have been committed to the responsibilities to this business for a long time, and it’s time for us to be able to travel a little bit,” Siatras said. “The responsibility and the commitment level that an independent restaurant requires is more than we want to sign on for at this point.”

During the 69 years the Siatras family has owned the restaurant on Maine Street in Brunswick, they have outlasted the Brunswick Naval Air Station closing twice, multiple recessions and the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

“The business has always survived, and I am pretty proud of the fact that it has been here for so long and it is so durable,” Siatras said.

Joshua’s is listed through Boulos Agency, a Portland-based real estate firm, and a few people have expressed interest in the space, according to Siatras.

“We wanted to make sure we gave our employees ample notice, so giving a month’s notice is very reasonable,” Siatras said.

Siatras has mixed emotions about retiring from the restaurant. He said it’s a little exciting to move forward without a plan.