A Carmel favorite, The Forge, is serving its last dish on Friday night

CARMEL, Calif. (KION-TV) -- A beloved Carmel restaurant, The Forge, is closing its doors for good Friday.

The restaurant has been a community favorite on the corner of 5th and Junipero since 1944. According to the restaurant, master builder Hugh W. Comstock constructed the building for $1,200 documented in the building's permit dated September 25, 1944.

The restaurant said that at the time, a Francis Whitaker used The Forge to produce much of the hand-wrought hardware (hinges, door latches, sign holders, etc.) still fixed to many of the historic buildings in Carmel.

"Mr. Whitaker was also active in civic affairs and served on the Carmel-by-the-Sea City Council for 13 years," wrote the restaurant on their website. "The actual anvil, vise, and hearth used by Mr. Whitaker, as well as photographs of him and the original Forge building, are on display inside the current Forge in the Forest Saloon."

"[I've been coming to The Forge] for at least 20 years. I always eat outside and usually meet my friend here and we have the same table more or less," said customer Adrienne Huckle. "It's just wonderful here. The food is good and it's just really got so much history. We really love it."

Huckle said that her final meal was a bittersweet experience. "I got my final meal in. It was different than usual.

"I'm sorry they have to go because I know a lot of people are really going to miss it. It's been a cornerstone and here we are on the corner. It's a beautiful place and I'm just really going to miss it."

Customers and employees alike say that they are going to miss the iconic restaurant.

"It's been so heartwarming to see all of our regulars come in and support us throughout the years and those that have come by sporadically and continue to give us their unconditional support," said 4-year employee Daniel Delappe. "It's kind of an emotional day for us because it's part of who we are to be able to serve and provide for the community and all of our four-legged furry friends that come in... it's kind of gut-wrenching not being able to see them anymore."

"It's been amazing. I got to meet a lot of cool people... a lot of tourists come around, locals, friends, co-workers," said Heydy Aviles, an employee for 12 years. "It's been a great experience. It's not only helped me feel like a family but a community also because I get to know a lot of people."

The restaurant has not only a rich reputation within the community, but it is also steeped in a rich history.

"The new renovation is paying homage to the bar’s existing décor, including the copper walls and the horn bar that dates back to the late-1800s, by applying a new face to the furnishings," wrote a 2013 update by the new owners at the time, Greg Profeta and The Profeta Family Trust.

“You’ve known us all these years, you’ve supported us, and now we’re all grown up,” is the final statement on the restaurant's "about us" page.

"I get the chills just talking about [it closing] right now," said Aviles. "It's been something that I've done for so many years that I feel like it's going to be a little piece of my heart that's going to be gone."

"We hold out hope that it's going to remain a cornerstone in the community," said Delappe. "It's been that way for so long and there's so much history from when Francis Whittaker owned it when it was the original Forge... and John Steinbeck used to come in here. It's just got such a heartbeat and an energy that really makes you feel warm and welcome whenever you come in here.

The restaurant's last seating will be at 9:45 p.m. on Friday.

"Hopefully we'll do a good little send-off for everybody and maybe even do a little toast," said Delappe. "Raise a glass in the memory of The Forge."

More history on the building, including cameos from famous people, according to the restaurant:

"Artist and writer Henry Miller and the internationally renowned writer, John Steinbeck were frequent visitors who met with other locals inside The Forge, to drink, tell stories and talk. The Grapes of Wrath novel was reported to have been inspired inside The Forge as a result of one such meeting. When Francis Whitaker left Carmel in the mid-1960s, The Forge became an artist’s studio.  In the fall of 1970, The Forge was then converted into a restaurant and saloon.

"The Forge’s hand-carved Brunswick mahogany back bar was discovered languishing in an old rotting barn by a previous partner in The Forge in the Forest business while seeking shelter from a snowstorm.  It was originally brought to California 'around the Horn,' by a clipper ship from England during the Gold Rush era and is reputed to have been used in a California gold country bordello."