One of the last of the old-time, family owned restaurants will be closing for good Sunday because of increasing operating costs, a decline in business and the inability of a potential buyer to negotiate a new lease with the landowner.

Flamingo Restaurant, which was opened at 871 Kapi'olani Blvd. in 1959 by the Nagamine family, will shut down and lay off 37 employees. The closure will not affect the last remaining Flamingo restaurant in Pearl City, which is owned by a partnership that includes members of the Nagamine family.

Jean Shimabukuro, daughter of Flamingo founder Steven Nagamine, said employees were notified of the closure earlier this month, but she delayed a public announcement because she was hoping for an 11th-hour sale of the restaurant. She said the prospective buyer was unable to secure a lease with landowner Carlton Kusunoki and the decision was made yesterday to close the restaurant's doors at the end of dinner service on Sunday.

"It's very sad for us and for our employees," said Shimabukuro, 70, vice president of Flamingo Enterprises. "They've been on a roller coaster, whether we're going to close or not, for over a month now. But everyone has stuck with us. Nobody has left. I know it's very difficult for them."

But the reality was sales have declined over the years, while the cost to operate has skyrocketed, she said. The restaurant has been on a month-to-month lease for several years and her family could no longer afford to stay in business.

"It has been slow lately. It is a very good location, but it has slowed down considerably," Shimabukuro said. "When the Chuckwagon closed (in 1998) a lot of people thought this location had also closed too so it was a difficult time for us to build it up. But even if sales improved, costs have risen just as much so you kind of never got ahead."

Waitress Lina Javier started at the Chuckwagon in 1985 and moved to the Kapi'olani restaurant when the Chuckwagon closed. She said she was "crossing her fingers" that a buyer could be found and the restaurant could remain open, but will have to look for another job now that it's closing.

Javier, 52, said she feels at home at the restaurant and will miss going to work.

"I will miss everybody. The boss, the owner, my co-workers, everything," she said. "I'm more happy here than anywhere else. No. 1, I will miss my customers."

For longtime customers such as Marjorie Miyahara, the closure leaves her with few affordable places to eat. The Honolulu resident, who said she's in her 70s, has eaten at the Flamingo restaurants for decades.

"It's home cooking, they give you your money's worth and it's always tasty," Miyahara said as she ate for the third time this week at the restaurant. "The service is always nice, the people are polite, so we're going to miss it."

Nagamine opened his first restaurant, Cafe Flamingo, in 1950 on Ala Moana, where Restaurant Row now stands. Nine years later he opened the Kapi'olani Boulevard restaurant, which was followed by the Flamingo Chuckwagon, Flamingo Royal Lanai, and Flamingo restaurants in Downtown, Pearl City, Kane'ohe and Waipahu. The family also ran the Heritage Ballroom in the Japanese Cultural Center.

But over the years, declining business, changing tastes, and shifts in the economy took their toll on the family operation and one-by-one the restaurants closed. Flamingo Enterprises was not alone, however, as other longtime family restaurants, including Columbia Inn, Wisteria and Alakea Grill also disappeared.

"People are coming out, but our clientele has been more the older generation. We see a lot of seniors, but not the young people," Shimabukuro said.

Landowner Kusunoki said he would have liked for the restaurant to continue, but said the Nagamine family wanted to leave. He said he also didn't agree with the family's plan to get a new lease, only to turn around and sell the business.

Kusunoki, who purchased the land in March 2006, said he has no immediate plans for the property. But he said keeping it as a restaurant would be tough for whoever takes over.

"Nowadays the environment's too hard for a lot of restaurants," he said.