MARIETTA, Ga. — Just like that, it’s over.

“It’s very sad. “It’s going to be kind of a loss to not have Shillings here on the corner, because it’s been here for most of my life,” David Hilburn tells WSB Radio.

Hilburn on Tuesday was standing in front of the now-chained front doors of Shillings, notable for its green awnings. The landmark restaurant has occupied the northwest corner of Marietta Square for 41 years.

A Marietta resident for decades, Hilburn’s time ran alongside the lifespan of the destination restaurant in the heart of the city.  Many have called Shillings a kind of “Cheers” restaurant/bar, and Hilburn agrees. “The brass railings down there and you’ve had people there that I’m pretty sure the seats had contoured to the shape of their backside…absolutely.”

His favorite menu items?  “I always like(d) the calamari, and the beer on draft was always colder than anywhere else around here.”

The time had come for owners David and Carol Reardon, who closed the sale of the restaurant Monday. By Tuesday afternoon, its new owners were already inside, getting to work on what eventually will be a new restaurant concept to open in the coming months. When it’s ready, there will be a different name.

Randy McCray is the new owner. As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, he and his brother now add this location to a portfolio that includes restaurants in Roswell (The Mill Kitchen and Bar) and Lawrenceville (McCray's Tavern).

The end of the era for Shillings came as a surprise even to those who know David Reardon well. Just across the street at the Church Street Market/The Keeping Room, store co-owner Johnny Fulmer says he only found out Monday. That’s even though he and Reardon have served together on the Marietta Development Authority. “Dave’s a good man, and I think he’s done his duty, and I think he’s probably ready to move on and do something else and relax a little bit.”

As for the new owner of the restaurant to take-over Shillings’ old storefront, “I wish him good luck and look forward to seeing him and getting to know him,” says Fulmer.

Back outside the front doors of Shillings, Carolina Yarborough was standing there. “I appreciate the historic value of the restaurants that are on the Square, the buildings that are here, so it’s a little sad for me.”