It’s been open for half a century. But steep rent is closing this beloved Sacramento diner

After more than half a century of serving hamburgers, omelettes and much more around the clock, Original Perry’s diner will close for good Sunday at 3 p.m., owner and general manager Paul Fraga confirmed Wednesday morning.

Perry Potiris opened his first restaurant, then called The Truckadero, in a partnership with ARCO at 7895 Stockton Blvd. in 1968. He opened Mr. Perry’s in south Sacramento six years later, which remains in business, followed by the now-closed Kallie’s dinner house in 1978.

Fraga began working at Original Perry’s 31 years ago as a busboy and never left. He bought the restaurant in 2010, the same year Potiris died at the age of 83.

California’s rising minimum wage was one factor in Original Perry’s closure, Fraga said. But the main reason was a hefty contract with his landlord signed back in 2010, which Fraga claimed an appraiser had determined was well above the building’s value in 2015.

Fraga declined to name the landlord, but said he now owns Mr. Perry’s. An employee at Mr. Perry’s said the restaurant was owned by Michael Rose, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Fraga said he had sold personal assets, poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Original Perry’s and even found multiple buyers for the restaurant. But Rose declined to let him out of the contract, leading to Original Perry’s closure, he said.

“I’m getting so many calls, it’s kind of devastating,” Fraga said. “It’s sad that greed got me and took down an establishment that’s been here 51 years ... the mom-and-pops never make it that long.”

Original Perry’s had been open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for 51 years before Fraga cut the graveyard shift eight weeks ago, he said. Dinner was the next to go in mid-November. It’s been open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. ever since, hours that’ll remain until closure on Sunday.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story and headline said Original Perry’s is in Elk Grove.

This story was originally published December 11, 2019 at 11:24 AM.