It was an emotional night for the owners, the employees, and the patrons of Riverside Inn, knowing it is the very last dinner crowd in the historic building.

Many have just enjoyed that last piece of Riverside Inn fried chicken, and spent an evening in one of the restaurant's unique dining rooms for the very last time.

"Just the memories is all we're going to have left of it anymore," said restaurant patron Scott Snider, who has also helped touch up the restaurant's unique murals over the years, after flood damage.

Even Christmas parties are a little less festive.

"Tonight is a sad night for us," said Dr. Cindy Baker.

Those who've made Riverside part of their lives for years will now feel something missing.

"The first time I came here was with my parents back in the '70s. Then I graduated in 1980, and we had our prom here," Snider said.

"Riverside Inn is our family. We live about five minutes away, and, over the past many years, we've eaten here probably about once a week," said Baker.

Those who will feel the biggest loss are those who spend every night in the historic place, founded by Howard Garrison in 1923, passed on to Jack Engel, and then his son, Eric.

"We've been going, going, going, and it started hitting us last night a little bit, and I hated it when people kept saying, 'This is the last time for this, last time we're going to do this,'" said co-owner Lisa Engel, Eric's wife.

Now, the reality is hitting home.

"When I woke up this morning, I didn't even get out of bed, and the tears came, because this is the day. This is it," Engel said.

They'll miss everything about the Inn, except the flooding.

"That's the only great part about it all. We know the the building, the way the river's coming, that the business will flood again," Engel said.

Patrons also understand, but saying goodbye is hard.

"Just not going to be the same to drive down Riverside Road, and this old building not sit at the end of the bridge," said Snider.

"I hope that Eric and Lisa Engel open another Riverside Inn," said Baker.

"We've got to get over this first. It's going to take a while, but we're not saying, 'no.' We don't know just yet," Engel said.

The owners say it usually takes until about 2:00 in the morning to clean up, but they and the employees planned to stick around even longer than usual this night; some even brought their blankets and pillows.

Some of the core employees will get to take home keepsakes from the restaurant, like a lamp or a cooking pot. Other items, like Howard Garrison's paintings, will be sold at auction on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 10 a.m.

The paperwork to make Riverside Inn the property of Christian County is still pending, so the demolition date is not yet known.