Popular 55-Year-Old Family-Owned Perkins In Monmouth Closes

A favorite family restaurant has closed in Monmouth County, and the tributes are pouring in from the many people who worked and ate there.

The Perkins Restaurant in Neptune closed on Sunday after 55 years and the owners, Dave and Barbara Stone, told nj.com that it was the hardest moment of their lives.

"This is very hard right now," Barbara Stone told nj.com, calling Perkins "an institution" in Neptune since 1962. "It's heartbreaking," she said.

Dave Stone told nj.com he got a job as a chef at the restaurant in 1970, cooking and managing until 1983. That year, he became operating partner, co-owning the Perkins with Barbara.

Eugene Stewart, who began working there as a teenager, posted on Facebook that breakfast in Neptune for many years "was synonymous with Perkins 'on the circle.'"

"A place near and dear to my heart as it was, Stewart said. "Two years of employment, a lifetime of memories, meetings, informal gatherings and solicitations for some organization or another, Perkins was home away from home for me."

"Thank you for all the memories!" the owners posted on a sign when they closed. "It has been our pleasure to serve you and your families from the bottom of our hearts. We thank you."

Here are some other tributes:

Photo courtesy of Dave Stone and YouTube photo/video