The final days at Coral Gables have not been quiet.
Coral Gables announced earlier this month that the decades‑old restaurant and bar is closing its doors Tuesday night.
Since the announcement, longtime patrons have been filling tables for one last meal, one last drink and one last chance to say goodbye.
For nearly six decades under the Vanis family’s ownership, Coral Gables has been tied to East Lansing and MSU life — from student nights and game days to family brunches, work gatherings and regulars who treated the restaurant like a second home.
But its history reaches back even further.
A history older than East Lansing remembers
Coral Gables traces its roots to the 1920s, when the business was known as a roadhouse.
In the 1930s and 1940s, it became known for music and big-band performances, hosting acts including Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, Woody Herman and The Ink Spots.
The building burned down in 1957 and had to be rebuilt.
By the late 1950s, as East Lansing remained a dry town, Coral Gables became a popular gathering place for Michigan State students just outside the city’s stricter liquor rules.
The restaurant entered a new chapter in 1968, when the Vanis family purchased the East Lansing location.
Co-owner Stuart Vanis said his father and uncle ran the business for years before he returned in 1991 and learned the operation from the ground up.
Now, after decades of work and with no clear line of succession, Vanis says it is time to step back.
“It's time,” Vanis said. “I mean, things do run their course.”
A rush to say goodbye
Since the closure announcement, business has surged. Staff say traffic has doubled or tripled on certain days.
“I've never seen numbers like this,” Vanis said. “It could have been that nobody came in and nobody cared. It means that people do care, and they have an emotional attachment to this restaurant.”
Staff and regulars say the past few weeks have felt like one long reunion.
“Coral Gables is not a place; it is the people,” said day manager Brian Durath. “Both customers and the staff, and you've got a staff of people who've worked here collectively a long time.”
Sam Smelser, a six-year employee and MSU graduate, said the restaurant’s regulars became part of daily life at Coral Gables.
“It's kind of like having 50 extra sets of grandparents,” Smelser said. “It’s great because they just want somebody to talk to, and I love talking to people. It's just been great to have those conversations with them.”
The regulars who made it home
Those kinds of relationships are what longtime customers say they will miss most.
Retirees from MSU’s finance department gathered for their longtime breakfast tradition – among them was David Brower, who’s been eating at Coral Gables since the late 1960s.
He said the restaurant has been part of nearly every stage of his adult life.
I turned 21 in the Rathskeller (Coral Gables’ basement bar); my friends had a mug for me from there. I used to kid Stuart about building a condo upstairs, so I wouldn't have to come so far to get here. It's just a very important part of the last 60 years of my life, and I'm going to miss it a lot.David Brower
Members of the former College of Human Ecology have also met at Coral Gables on the third Tuesday of the month for years.
Daily regular and retired ecology professor Dennis Keefe said the closure feels like losing a second home.
“We're going to really miss it,” Keefe said.
For many patrons, Coral Gables was never just a restaurant. It was a place for reunions, celebrations, work lunches, family gatherings and MSU memories that stretched across generations.
Durath said his own memories of Coral Gables go back through his family.
I've got memories of coming here as a kid with my family, because I grew up here. There's memories of bringing my kids when we had the game room.. So, three generations of family who have come here and worked here.Brian Durath
Other patrons recalled first drinks, old friendships, game-day gatherings and meals that became part of their routines for decades.
The legend of Rupture
The restaurant also has its own local lore.
One of the more unusual pieces of Coral Gables history sits in the back of the restaurant: an 8-foot-tall fiberglass duck named Rupture.
Durath said the story goes back to a group of Korean War veterans who returned to campus and tried to enter a Greek parade with a homemade float.
After being told they could not participate, they hid the duck statue on the float and joined the parade anyway.
The statue was later stolen by members of the Greek system before eventually finding its way to Coral Gables.
A plaque on the back wall now details Rupture’s journey, adding one more odd chapter to a restaurant already full of them.
An uncertain future
The future of the Coral Gables building remains uncertain.
Vanis said no decision has been made about what will happen to the property after the restaurant closes. He said he is considering retirement or shifting to work that is less demanding after decades of running the business.
“We haven't determined what's going to happen with the building yet,” Vanis said. “With me, there's many things I can do.”
Staff say the space is unlikely to sit vacant.
"I don't know about selling the building, but it's old,” Smelser said. “But I doubt it'll be empty for long.”
Coral Gables also has a location in Saugatuck, but the East Lansing restaurant has long operated independently and remained the one most closely tied to MSU and the surrounding community.
One last meal
For the people returning in its final days, the draw is not just the food or the building. It is the chance to sit one more time in a place that helped shape their memories of East Lansing.
After 58 years under the Vanis family’s ownership, Coral Gables will close Tuesday night.