CRYSTAL CITY, Va – It wasn’t COVID but a dispute with the landlords that’s bringing an end to the Athena Pallas restaurant in Crystal City, Virginia, set to close its doors on July 31 after being in business for 25 years.

The property owner told ARLnow they wanted “adjustments” in terms of Athena’s management and operations, which owners Mike Kosmides and Kallia Sambrakos just wouldn’t accept.

“They recommended that we get a partner or hire a manager … we are tenants, we pay the rent,” Kosmides said. “You have no say in how we operate… They don’t want us here anymore because we are old and cannot perform well,” he added.

He said there were health issues and a death in family that affected their ability to run the restaurant and the owners of the building, Georgia and Stratis Voutsas, said they wanted it to stay open.

“Between COVID and the terrible loss of her son there has been a lot of downtime at Athena. We did our best to work with them and asked for some adjustments in management in order to see longevity,” they also told the news site.