The continental restaurant in Saugus is closing after 72 years

The Continental Restaurant in Saugus is closing next month After 72 years, the last venerable Route 1 facility has closed.

Nov. 24 will be the last day customers can enjoy the Continental's sirloin steak, shrimp scampi and baked stuffed scrod, the owners said.

Paul Kourkoulis, 60, who owns the restaurant with his father and brother, said he fields calls from longtime patrons of the restaurant, which has been in the same Route 1 location since 1952.

“Yesterday was a busy day for sure,” Kourkoulis said. “They are sad that the place is disappearing. It makes me a little sad.”

The Continental has been run by the Kourkoulis family since 1983.

“My father worked at Continental from 1954 to 1956 when he first came to this country from Greece,” Kourkoulis said.

His father later ran restaurants in Vermont, but when the opportunity to buy the Continental arose in 1983, he jumped at it.

“It’s been in my family ever since,” Kourkoulis said.

The Continental Restaurant has long been a popular venue, hosting countless class reunions, birthday parties, baby showers, rehearsal dinners and post-funeral gatherings.

“Baptisms, wedding receptions… people met there and got engaged there,” Kourkoulis said.

And the menu has changed little over the years.

“We tweaked it here and there,” Kourkoulis said.

Over the years, the Continental has developed a loyal following of guests who enjoy the restaurant's early bird specials as well as its free pop-overs and corn fritters.

Kourkoulis said the staff was the backbone of the restaurant and many had worked there for decades.

The chef has been there for more than 30 years and the functional manager started working there as a dishwasher in 1984 when he was 15 years old, he said.

Like many restaurants, Continental struggled during the pandemic and never fully recovered.

“Post-COVID, our sales came back, but never to the extent of pre-COVID,” he said. “Sales dropped dramatically.”

Kourkoulis said The Continental targets an older, budget-conscious audience, and that those customers have not eaten out as much as before after the pandemic ended, Kourkoulis said. The lounge also didn't attract that many night owls.

“People’s behavior patterns have changed,” he said.

Kourkoulis said people have a few weeks to return to the Continental and say goodbye.

“It has been an honor to serve the public for so many years,” he said. “I just want to thank our customers for their great support. It’s definitely bittersweet, for the customers and for ourselves.”

Emily Sweeney can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @emilysweeney and on Instagram @emilysweeney22.