DEERFIELD BEACH, FL – Marlee’s Diner, 699 S Federal Highway in Deerfield Beach, established by Helen and Steve Mavromatis in 2001, is set to close on July 29, the Mavromatis’ daughter and co-owner Emmy Louvaris told southflorida.com. Her brother, Matthew Mavromatis, named the diner after his daughter Marlee, but moved to Colorado in 2008 and sold the restaurant which was then bought back by the family in 2011.

Marlee’s Diner, like many Greek-American diners, offered traditional American, Greek and Mediterranean homemade specialties on its menu. The Greek recipes were “inspired by and handed down by our mom,” according to the Marlee’s Diner website, with gyro made in-house, chicken souvlaki, tzatziki, and spanakopita. When three-year-old Marlee was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, healthier, sugar-free, vegetarian, and low-carb options were added to the menu as well.

Louvaris was a Broward elementary schoolteacher and then became the general manager of Marlee’s Diner. She said the diner has been sold to a property developer but what they plan to do with the property has not yet been revealed, South Florida reported, adding that efforts to sell the business to a restaurant group and keep it running did not work out.

The business continues to make a profit, Louvaris noted, but her parents would like to live in Greece part-time, she told South Florida, adding that she also wants to “take a break,” and “owning a restaurant isn’t my passion.”

A documentary about the diner and its longtime patrons and staff is already in the works as well as a farewell party during the closing weekend, Louvaris told South Florida. More information on Marlee’s Diner is available online: marleesdiner.com.