A Tulsa restaurant known for its fine dining for nearly six decades said goodbye Thursday night.

The Celebrity restaurant near 31st and Yale reopened this holiday season so customers can eat there once again. While the owners are still trying to figure out the restaurant’s future, one thing is certain: this place means so much to so many people.

News On 6 was there as some of the last people dined at Celebrity. Linda Ree said she remembers her first time here when the restaurant opened in 1963.

“You had to bring your own bottle, you had to know someone, and we worked for him and he got us all on board,” Ree recalled.

Ree really enjoyed this last visit to the restaurant with her family.

“It’s part of my life,” Ree said. “I don’t want it to close.”

Johnna Hayes, co-owner of 3 Sirens Restaurant Group, said Celebrity’s closure is best for the business.

Hayes said the group bought the restaurant in 2019, did a quick renovation, opened for a few months, and then the pandemic hit.

Hayes said most of the restaurant’s customers and employees are older, and many have chosen to stay home.

“Between staffing and getting enough people here, we just thought it was best to shut down until this season and then do this,” Ree explained.

Employees, like Gloria Byrd, who has been here for 15 years, said they were grateful for taking the time to create more memories.

“On birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions, and that’s part of me, too,” Byrd said. “So I just want to say ‘thank you’ because they helped me in my life.”

As for the future of the business, Hayes said ownership and the restaurant’s name and rights could be sold separately to the right person.

“The future is what the public wants it to be,” Hayes said. “If anyone wants to rush in here and get it, I think that would be great.”

Maybe these halls will be full of chatter and the hallways will be adorned again one day.