The year was 1975. The Vietnam War ended with the fall of Saigon and late-night viewers tuned into “Saturday Night Live” for the first time. That same year, a family opened a French restaurant on Main Street in Ellicott City.

For the next five decades, Tersiguel’s French Country Restaurant — sometimes under a different name, and for a while not on Main Street — became a place for Howard County residents to celebrate life’s biggest moments: birthdays, wedding anniversaries, graduations and more.

Tersiguel’s did all this while surviving flooding from Hurricane Eloise just two months after opening, then a five-alarm fire that destroyed the restaurant. It caused Chez Fernand (the initial name, after founding owner Fernand Tersiguel) to move to Baltimore County before returning to Ellicott City’s Main Street in 1990 and debuting as Tersiguel’s, according to Baltimore magazine.

Tersiguel’s faced other challenges and bounced back every time: the 2008 financial crisis, two deadly floods that ravaged Main Street businesses in 2016 and 2018, and the coronavirus pandemic.

But come December, Tersiguel’s will serve its final meal.

“Our family has grown with yours over the years, and our relationships with you have been the driving force for our success,” chef Michel Tersiguel, who is Fernand Tersiguel’s son, and his wife, Angie, wrote in a statement. “As the adage goes, all good things must come to an end.”

The beloved restaurant, which bills itself as the original “from the farm, to the table” spot, announced the news in an email titled, “A Note From Our Table,” and corresponding social media posts on Wednesday evening.

However, familiar faces will move into the spot.

Having mulled over the decision roughly a year ago to begin seeking out a buyer, the Tersiguels settled on “dear friends” Nathan Sowers and Kimberly Kepnes.

In 2004, Sowers showed up at the restaurant’s kitchen back door with his baby in hand. He ended up creating a job that Tersiguel’s never had: Baker.

Guests loved his bread.

After the 2016 Ellicott City flood destroyed the restaurant’s kitchen, Sowers was let go due to financial constraints. He brought his talents to Pressed for Thyme, River House Pizza and The Inn at Mount Ida.

But now Sowers will return home, along with his wife Kimberly.

“While Tersiguel’s the name will live on our hearts, its building is about to gain the kindest, most generous and talented caregivers in Nathan and Kimberly,” the family said in its statement. “We could not be more honored to pass this torch to them.”

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball praised the restaurant in a recent social media post, calling it “a pillar of culinary excellence and hospitality in the heart of Old Ellicott City.”

“What began as Chez Fernand in 1975 has grown — through storms, fires, and decades of dedication — into a cherished local institution, and national tantalizing treasure of delicious delights,” Ball said.

In July, the restaurant marked its 50th anniversary, having opened on Bastille Day, July 14, in 1975.

“We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for entrusting us with your special occasions, your memories, your families over these fifty years,” Michel and Angie Tersiguel’s statement reads. “We will miss you dearly, and we never could have achieved what we did without you.”