A longtime staple in downtown Fairfield has closed its doors after 50 years. Mike's Pizza opened on the Post Road in 1974.
“It was iconic. Everybody went there,” said Patti Woods, who grew up in Fairfield. “I remember going to Tomlinson, and after school, my friends and I would walk downtown. We'd stop in at Mike's and get a slice and a ginger ale for like $2.”
Woods is also the author of "Lost Restaurants of Fairfield," which highlights local eateries of the past.
“It's all about the nostalgia and people's favorite meals and the people that owned these places,” Woods explained.
If she writes a second volume, Mike's Pizza will be featured. Woods told News 12 her “heart sank” when she learned her childhood favorite was no longer.
“There are so many wonderful memories of Mike's. It was the last holdout of the small mom and pop restaurants in Fairfield center, and it just is a huge loss for the community,” Woods stated.
Founder Mike Jordanopoulos and his wife sold the business in 2000, but other owners kept it going over the years, trying to stay true to what Jordanopoulos built.
“He loved the community, and he offered something that no one else did and that was a place for people to go and hang out and not spend a ton of money. It was just a part of people's lives,” Woods recalled.
That was evident when Woods posted about the closing on social media.
“Instantly people just started flooding my page with their memories because everybody has a story,” Woods stated.
That includes former Little Leaguers, train commuters and Fairfield University students.
It's unclear what led to the decision to close. There was no post on the business's Facebook page. News 12 tried contacting the owner through email, but it got bounced, and the number still listed for Mike’s Pizza no longer goes through.
While it's the end of an era for many people who grew up in Fairfield, it's also the start of something new. Signs in the windows show another restaurant is getting ready to put down roots there and maybe become the next community staple.