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NILES — A local restaurant will soon be closing its doors for good.

Ginny’s Place, a breakfast and lunch eatery located at 402 Wayne St., recently announced on Facebook it will be closing its doors this weekend after three years in business. The restaurant’s last day of service will be from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday.

Owner Ginny Cripe bought the restaurant, formerly the Viking Grill, from owners Jim and Tiffany Jaynes in 2019 after working for the couple for 10 years, hoping to build on what they established and provide a family atmosphere for customers. But the onset of the pandemic a year after opening and the ensuing shutdowns proved to be a financial hurdle Cripe could not overcome.

The pandemic’s financial impact on Ginny’s was so severe that Cripe closed it on weekdays to work two more jobs in order to make ends meet at the restaurant.

“It just went from there,” she said. “The consistent rise in prices of everything that we’re dealing with right now is just making it really hard for me to get back up on my feet. I have to close and  get a real job.”

Ginny’s Place will be the third local restaurant to close permanently in recent months after Harvest Café and Duncan’s Kozy Kitchen. Parting with the business and people she has known for more than a decade has been hard for Cripe.

“My waitress was here for the previous employer and her mother actually used to work here back in the day, so it’s kind of a family deal,” she said. “It meant a lot to be able to buy it and keep it open for as long as I could. We’ve always loved it; it’s just a nice, friendly family place.”

In addition to the people, there is one aspect about Ginny’s place that Cripe will miss the most .

“My grill,” she said. “It’s like I found my skill and we can’t do it anymore. I’ll miss the kitchen and definitely the people. Our people are just amazing. We’re like a big family here.”