A Rhode Island institution disappears when the Purple Cat Restaurant in Chepachet closes the doors for the last time Sunday night.

Rose LaVoie, 78, husband Kenneth "Skip" LaVoie, 76, and sons Kevin, 49, and Keith, 47, have been running the restaurant for 41 years. Even Keith's daughters have put in time at the restaurant. They are the second, third and fourth generations to serve diners from the spot. The Purple Cat was opened as a diner by Skip's parents 76 years ago and turned over to their son and daughter-in-law in 1964.

The closure is a family decision, Rose LaVoie said last week. Her husband had a stroke 14 months ago, and she and her sons have health issues that make running a restaurant a burden, not a joy. She is retiring and her sons have other business interests they want to pursue. While she isn't sad about the closing, she has mixed feelings.

"Customers are our friends," she said. "And they feel the same way about us. They've been coming in in droves since they heard the news." "We'll miss it, and we won't," she said with a tired chuckle. "It's bittersweet."

She won't miss the hard work that is running a restaurant. "People think it's glamorous, but it's not," she said. Owning your own restaurant means no freedom to enjoy family vacations or long weekends, she said. Owners are confined in a way people who work for others aren't. The buck stops with them.

For example, everyone looks forward to three-day weekends, she said. But the LaVoies didn't. They opened the Purple Cat six days a week, only closing on Mondays. But with Monday holidays, they'd open up, making another day of work. "You give up a lot when you're in the restaurant business," she said.

On the other hand, you share in so many occasions for others, she said. So many people celebrated family events at the restaurant, anniversaries and graduations, even weddings. That's what the LaVoies will miss.

There are no plans to sell the restaurant to a new owner. The LaVoies don't just own the Purple Cat but an entire parcel of land on Main Street that includes several houses and businesses. It is the whole parcel they will sell, not choosing to be landlords in retirement. If the buyer wants to make a new restaurant, that will be his or her choice, LaVoie said. Her family has made their decision and it was the right one for them, she said.

Originally published online here: [subscription] http://www.projo.com/food/content/projo_20050525_purple25.1c1c34d.html