The beloved and always-busy Sam’s No. 3 Aurora restaurant will close by the end of 2023, its owners announced via social media Wednesday.

The boozy brunch spot at 2580 S. Havana St. has been a fixture in the area for more than 25 years.

“You know, it really is cult-like interest from our customers,” said Patrick Armatas, co-owner and general manager. “I had a customer this morning who said we were cotton. When I asked what that meant, he said, ‘You’re the fabric of our lives’. ”

Famous for its green chili, epic Bloody Marys and fast, friendly service, Sam’s No. 3 has been an institution in Denver since 1927. It’s thought to be the first Denver breakfast and lunch diner to serve alcohol, starting a trend that other popular restaurants, such as Snooze and the Denver Biscuit Co., have since emulated.

The restaurant was packed Thursday after the news broke.

“One customer told me his car got wrecked Tuesday, his wife had to go to the hospital Wednesday — but the news of our closing was the worst news he got this week,” Armatas said. “He said, ‘We can get another car, and my wife will be fine, but losing Sam’s?’ ”

“It’s just amazing to see the amount of love and outpouring of well wishes from our customers from the last 25 years on Facebook and Instagram,” Armatas said.

Armatas’ grandfather, Sam, an immigrant from Greece, opened the first Sam’s at 1527 Curtis St. in

August of 1927. Eventually, there would be Sam’s No.’s 1-5.

“They did not serve booze at that time,” Armatas said. “But what they were was a Coney Island breakfast joint that actually people survived on through the Depression years. And then our dad (Spero) took it over from his dad.”

Spero Armatas partnered with his brother to open Newbarry’s Family Restaurant on Federal Boulevard and Jewell Avenue. That longtime restaurant closed — before the onset of the pandemic — after almost 70 years.

“They introduced beer and wine at that location, which was kind of a big deal,” Armatas said. “For diners at that time, it was like, ‘Beer and wine at a coffee shop?’ Back in the 1970s and 1980s, people just didn’t do that.”

The partnership that now owns all the Sam’s restaurants – Patrick and his two brothers Alex and Sam and dad Spero – formed in 1998, when they closed the lease on the Havana location.

“Me and my brothers were like geniuses. We’ve got this figured out. We’re not only going to be a diner, but we’re going to serve coffee on the level of Starbucks with lattes and a full bar on the level of any dinner restaurant, but we’re going to be a breakfast and lunch diner joint,” he said. “So, you can get a Bloody Mary and mimosa or a shot of Jameson. … We feel like all the others caught on to that idea after us.”

The other two Sam’s No. 3 locations are at 435 S. Cherry St., Glendale, and 1500 Curtis St. downtown – literally across the street from the original location in 1927.

The decision to close the Sam’s No. 3 Aurora was a difficult one, but the time had come, Armatas said.

“We’ve tried to convert this into a sale or purchase of this property and it hasn’t worked out,” Armatas said. “We don’t blame anybody. But we were on this timeline from the second we signed the lease here in 1998.”

That lease ran out in July and it had been month-to-month since then.

“It just felt like we wanted to control our own destiny,” he said. “Kind of like how John Elway went out on top. He knew when it was his time. Now is our time and opportunity to look for a new location. Now, we’d be telling our own story, instead of the story telling us.”

He said the owner has worked with them and “it was a shock to him” that the restaurant planned to close, adding: “He’s done everything he could to make sure we stay in this location.”

The owner could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Armatas described the decision as bittersweet.

“The hardest part is that we’ve been here 25 years, and we actually have staff who still work with us, and have that whole time,” he said. “The average server has been here for about 18 years. That’s the part that hurts. We want everyone to know that we’re closing only because of the lease, not because of business.”

That’s evidenced by there almost always being a waiting list to eat there — especially on weekends.

The partnership is keeping the Glendale and Denver stores open. The 49 staff members in Aurora will have the opportunity to work at either of those stores.

The downtown location, for example, used to have 100 employees working there before the pandemic. Now, the level stands at 62.

“We’ve actually had to cut service hours at those two locations because we can’t get people to work nights or weekends,” Armatas said. “We’re hoping that the closing of Aurora will help us flesh those hours out. So, there is a bit of good news there.”

The owners want to find a new location in Aurora if possible.

“Oh my brothers and I are A-Town boys for sure. This location in Aurora is really our old stomping grounds,” Armatas said. “This is our neighborhood and to be in this area holds a special place for us.”

For the staff — or family, as Armatas describes them — the owners plan to throw a party after Sam’s No. 3 Aurora closes its doors for the last time on Dec. 31.

“The heart and soul of any of our restaurants are the people who work there. And they’re the most important thing,” he said. “That’s why we want to take care of them first, and by taking care of them, they obviously take care of our customers coming in. But they’re our lifeblood of what we do and who we are. We want to make sure that everybody knows that we’re not just family in name, but in reality.”