Millersville residents will be saying “antio” — or goodbye — to the beloved Hellas Restaurant and Lounge on Sept. 3, the last day the long-lived Greek outpost will be serving up its popular cream of crab soup, bourbon gold wings and jumbo pork chops.

Hellas, which offers a menu sprinkled with Maryland favorites and dishes from around the world, including Italy and France, announced its impending closure Thursday on Facebook. It first opened in 1998.

“This was a very sad and difficult decision to make that involved several complex factors, including the state of the economy, labor markets, supply chain disruptions, the overall health of the business, family health issues and other personal factors,” read the post. “We appreciate all the love and support that our community has given us over the years, it has been our pleasure to serve our guests and help celebrate milestone events in their lives.”

The property at 8498 Veterans Hwy. recently was sold, the family wrote. The property’s assessed value as of July 1 was about $2.4 million, according to Maryland property records.

A Royal Farms store will soon take Hellas’ place, said Del. Nic Kipke who represents that part of Millersville. Kipke said he has been going to Hellas since his childhood.

“Their crabcakes are among the best,” Kipke said. “The Hellas restaurant and the Stavlas [family] will be missed.”

Farewells and well-wishes piled up underneath the restaurant’s Facebook post, with many saying it was the place they first met their future spouses, celebrated holidays or hosted milestone birthdays.

“It’s been used for memorial services and fundraisers. It’s part of the fabric of the community so it will be a great loss,” Kipke said.

In addition to hosting personal events, Hellas also has been the site of political fundraisers for years. This past spring, the Anne Arundel Republican Central Committee had its first speaker for its inaugural speaker series at Hellas. The event drew a crowd of around 60, said Anne Arundel County Republican Central Committee Vice Chair Dana Schulze.

The speaker, Derryck Green, was from Alliance Defending Freedom, a religious rights organization based in Arizona.

The selection of Green as the speaker drew backlash from members of the community due to his organization’s designation as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights nonprofit.

The restaurant, itself, has also been at the center of political controversy.

In 2020, shortly after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis spurred nationwide protests, Mandy Stavlas, wife of owner Mike Stavlas, made several social media posts suggesting people should hit protesters with their cars. The posts led to social justice activists encouraging residents to boycott the restaurant.

Hellas posted a social media apology soon after.

In 2015, The Capital visited Hellas to investigate why the restaurant was so popular and found a “wide variety of tasty food, both Greek and non-Greek” and “an impressive array of adult beverages with a most favorable price point.”

“They value good service and make sure [kudos!!] their servers are trained thoroughly and well,” the article read. “Everything about your dining experience at Hellas will make you feel that they’re glad you came, and you know what? They are.”

While residents may be able to find spanakopita, chicken souvlaki and gyro platters elsewhere, it’s a friendly, affordable hangout spot many say will be sorely missed.

Finding the restaurant’s signature Greek nachos, salted pita crisps topped with chopped gyro meat, lettuce, tomato, red onion, tzatziki sauce, Feta cheese and black olives, however, may be more of a challenge.