Pep Grill restaurant and bar in Harrisburg appears to be closed

It's dark inside the Pep Grill in Harrisburg. The doors are locked, and nobody answers the phone.

The owners of The Pep Grill in Harrisburg tried to auction it off in October 2011 but the bids came in too low.

Several business owners along Walnut Street say the restaurant, known for its jukebox, Greek gyros and flaming Dr. Pepper cocktails, closed at the end of December.

Attempts to reach the owners, brother and sister Spero and Maggie Ntonados, were unsuccessful.

For many, the Pep Grill, was one of the last watering holes of its kind in Harrisburg. In its heyday, the Pep Grill was among several landmark city restaurants including The Spot, the Locust Cafe and the Little Ritz Cafe.

"It is one of the last bars with true character," said Fred Clark, a local businessman.

"As eclectic as it was, I don't think it could be replicated," he added.

Regulars like Jeff Coleman, owner of Churchill Strategies in Harrisburg, said he misses his daily lunches at the Pep Grill.

"It was a gimmick free lunch environment ... the prices were consistent. The menu and delivery of quality food was consistent," Coleman said.

He said the Pep Grill also was one of those restaurants you took out-of-town guests to for a slice of Harrisburg.

"They were known for their authenticity," Coleman added.

In 2011, the Ntonadoses attempted to auction off the three-story building at 209 Walnut St. with its mustard-colored facade. But bids fell short and the Ntonados decided to keep the restaurant open.

At the time, Maggie Ntonados said: “I had the best customers downtown. They were down to earth. They just always made me laugh and opened my eyes and kept me grounded.”

John Luciew, a reporter for The Patriot-News, wrote a column about the bar, saying:

Rightly, the bar was the focus. It was the reason everyone came — to drink. But not just to drink. To drink with other interesting characters in a good, old dependable corner bar.

To think, it was just around Walnut Street from the hustle and pretense of Restaurant Row. Yet, a world away. The Pep was

communal."

The clientele was a colorful mix of college kids, politicians, blue-collar workers, bikers, jazz aficionados and homeless war vets. The restaurant also was a popular watering hole for former Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed.

Through the years, regulars came for the live jazz and funk or to play the jukebox and hear everything from Bobby Darin to Bob Dylan, the Bee Gees to Bruce Springsteen.

Others come for the signature cocktail, the Flaming Dr. Pepper, created from lighted shots of root beer schnapps and amaretto with rum dropped into half mugs of beer.

Three families have operated the Pep Grill since it opened in 1948. Spero and Maggie’s mother, the late Katherine Ntonados, took over in 1975.