SEBRING − Perkins Restaurant and Bakery has been a staple in the community since 1963.

The eatery will end operations under its current ownership after Sunday's shifts.

Manager Rich Felger confirmed the news. But the closure might not be permanent.

The property at 20040 Harrisburg-Westerville Rd. (U.S. Route 62) sits on a visible corner of the state highway. It had been for sale for awhile and a buyer was found.

Mike Conny, the owner of MAC Trailer and several other area real estate properties, confirmed his purchase from Oak Ridge Development, saying the deal is expected to close Monday.

Conny also said he would like to reopen the restaurant either as a Perkins or another brand. "We would like to keep it up for our community," Conny said Friday.

To do that, Conny said they would need meet certain Perkins requirements to maintain the franchise. He said he currently cannot meet them.

"If Perkins will let us run the franchise, our plan would be to remodel the corner and continue the Perkins franchise," Conny said. Conny said the adjacent motel might not survive, because it needs a lot of work.

'It has been a good breakfast place'

If this is the end for Perkins, the news does not thrill several customers who were dining Friday afternoon. For them, the restaurant was a local place to dine out without traveling into Alliance or Salem.

Friends Audra Nezbeth of Beloit and Amy Steele of Sebring were leaving the restaurant after enjoying breakfast and catching up.

"I'm not happy," Nezbeth said.

Before it was a Perkins, Steele said a couple owned a restaurant there. "It has been a good breakfast place," she said. "I'm 66. It has been around as long as I am old."

Rachel Stith of Alliance and her sister Charlotte Mason ate breakfast at Perkins and bought some muffins to take home. Mason's 2-year-old granddaughter was with them.

"Their muffins are awesome," Stith said. "I got a little bit of everything."

Mason said her granddaughter is non-verbal and doesn't usually eat solid foods. "But she ate a lot today. She had some pancakes, some applesauce, chocolate milk and ate a pack of cookies," she said.

The sisters said they were disappointed by the closure. "It was such short notice," Mason said.

Stith added: "Hopefully they do something with the place."

That seems to be the plan.

"It's nice corner property. We're definitely not going to sit on it," Conny said. "If (the restaurant) does not happen, we will develop something there."

Reach Benjamin Duer at 330-580-8567 or ben.duer@cantonrep.com. Follow on Twitter @bduerREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Stay tuned: Sebring's Perkins Restaurant to cease operations after Sunday