Snooky’s, a locally owned restaurant, will be closing down on Feb. 18 after 41 years of operation and will be replaced by a CVS Pharmacy.

“I’ve been at this for 41 years. I knew one day that it would have to end. I’ll be 65 soon, and I just feel like it’s time,” Bruce Yawn, owner of Snooky’s, said. “I regularly have children of people who were here in the seventies.”

Yawn said that he worked at a Minute Mart down the road after he graduated from the University of Georgia in 1969, until he opened Snooky’s in 1971, buying out the take-out chicken restaurant that had previously been there.

Many people of note have eaten at Snooky’s, including Tony Barnhart, Zell Miller, Jimmy Carter, Jim Trussel, Vince Dooley, Erk Russel and Vince Gill, Yawn said.

“When it first started, we had the idea of catering, being on the perimeter of the college,” Yawn said. “I didn’t start out trying to make a lot of money, I wanted to make a difference in the community.”

Yawn was approached by CVS before about buying the restaurant from him.

“CVS has been looking at this property for a while. They want to build a pharmacy here, when they asked me if they could buy it ten years ago, there was no way,” said Yawn.

Students expressed disappointment that this Statesboro landmark will be closing.

“I’ve only been there once or twice. I don’t want to see any businesses close, but in this economy it can’t be helped,” Chaz N., a senior accounting major, said.

“It’s a tradition that we’re losing, but I’m sure he has a good reason for closing,” TJ Holley, a junior political science major, said.

“Going from Snooky’s to a CVS, sucks. It’s a well-known, tradition place,” Zach Smith, a junior IT major, said.

Phillip Stringer, an undeclared sophomore, said, “I feel like it does open new up the area for more business, but it’s not so good for the community.”