Iconic Saskatoon restaurant The Cave to change hands at end of February after more than 50 years

The Cave, an iconic Saskatoon restaurant, is set to change hands next month.

The business on Eighth Street is known for its unique architecture — designed to resemble its namesake cavern.

The Cave was opened in 1973 by the Kosmas family and was designed by the same architect behind other local restaurants like Station Place — now the Old Spaghetti Factory.

Restaurant manager George Kosmas said The Cave faced some difficulties over the last couple years following the COVID-19 pandemic. He said after their 50th anniversary milestone, they knew it was time to sell and focus on looking after family.

"Both my mom and dad have gotten older. My two uncles who were with us for a very long time have passed away now," Kosmas said on CBC's Saskatoon Morning. "This business has become harder and harder to work with fewer bodies."

WATCH | Go inside Saskatoon's iconic The Cave: 

Take a tour of Saskatoon's unique restaurant The Cave, sold after 51 years

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The Kosmas family built The Cave in Saskatoon in 1973, its interior resembling a cave. Over the decades, it's become iconic in the city. The family have now sold it to new owners and don't know whether the cave-like restaurant will live on.

The bittersweet occasion didn't stop Kosmas from celebrating half a century in business and looking back on the memories made there.

"My biggest joy is watching kids come in for the first time over the iconic bridge and then just walking into the restaurant and being like, 'Oh, wow, it does look like a cave,'" Kosmas said.

The Cave, with its stalactite-shaped formations that mirror mineral deposits found in caves, was modelled after restaurants carved out of actual caves in Greece and Italy.

Hundreds of couples have become engaged in the restaurant's private nooks. Kosmas remembers one Valentine's Day when he had three engagement rings inside his safe at one time.

"It was quite the ordeal to make sure I got the right rings to the right people," he said.

Kosmas said the outpouring of stories he has heard since the announcement is overwhelming.

"I've heard about family events or, you know, their first experience, or why they keep coming back, and it's a lot harder than I thought it would be."

• Read about some of the city's other notable restaurants in our Saskatoon Bites series

Keitanna Gerwing, a server, said she was "devastated" when she learned about the sale.

"My co-worker and I literally went to the back room and we just started sobbing because it's our home, it's our life, and we love it a lot," she said. "Nothing lasts forever. The memories will never fade, and that's what's important to me. But obviously being able to come back to this place as I age would be something I would love to do."

Saskatoon Morning7:10The Cave restaurant is changing hands and the future at the unique Saskatoon eatery is still unclear

Host Stephanie Massicotte talks with George Kosmas, whose family has run The Cave for the past 50 years on what it's been like to be part of a beloved Saskatoon restaurant.

Kosmas said he's "immensely proud" to be part of a business that is "so Saskatoon" and family-run.

"I grew up here since I can remember," he said."[I've spent] the last 25 years working alongside both my parents and my uncles and I know nothing else other than this restaurant."

Kosmas said he's not sure what will happen to the restaurant or whether the new owners will keep it running, but they officially take over at the start of March.

"If it does get torn down, I'll be a little sad. But, it's always exciting to see what new possibilities come out of it," he said, adding he hopes they keep the restaurant going for another 50 years.

The restaurant's final day open under the Kosmas family will be Feb. 22.