One of the last two Gingerbread Man restaurants will be permanently closed at the end of July, bringing the popular Mechanicsburg restaurant to an end for 42 years.

The Cumberland County Bar and Restaurant opened at 26 West Street in 1979 and has always been the restaurant of choice for drinks, billiards and a casual atmosphere. The name has long been a staple of dining in central Pennsylvania.

Richard Phelan, the building owner who founded the original restaurant, told Pennsylvania Live Part of the reason Gingerbread Man closed on Tuesday was because as the chain increased its entry into the area, it could no longer compete with the ever-changing restaurants.

In its heyday, Gingerbread Man grew into a chain with 19 branches in Pennsylvania and Maryland.The number of remaining locations has decreased in the past ten years and closed Hummelstown with Harrisburg Reduce the restaurant footprint to Mechanicsburg and Carlisle.

Ferran said the Carlisle branch owned by his son will continue to operate. The Mechanicsburg restaurant is owned by Phelan’s daughter and her husband, and they are reportedly divorcing and selling liquor licenses to Rutter’s convenience store chain.

The restaurant will continue to provide food and beverages until it closes at the end of July.