George Martin's Grillfire to close in Merrick 

It was hard to miss George Martin’s Grillfire in Merrick. The illuminated cornice and boldly colored graphic awning managed to magnify and dramatize what was, in truth, an unremarkable one-story building across from the Long Island Rail Road tracks.

Now, 31 years after he started leasing the space, George Korten is closing the restaurant; it will serve its last dinner on Jan. 15.

"We were unable to reach a deal with our landlord," he said, citing "the rent, coupled with the rising cost of utilities and taxes" (which, he noted, had more than quintupled over the years).

"I’m upset for myself and for everyone," he continued. "It’s a great team, and people are going to lose their jobs."

Korten’s first concept in the location was Route 66 Roadhouse, which opened in 1994 serving a Southwestern menu inspired by Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill (which had opened three years earlier in Manhattan). But within two years, Korten switched to the Italian Nick Di Angelo, "because people will eat Italian food a few times a week." In 2009, Nick Di Angelo gave way to Grillfire, a brand that Korten had established in Rockville Centre (2006 to 2016) and would extend to Syosset (2014 to 2017).

Grillfire never lost that casual, rollicking roadhouse feel. The menu even has a few Southwestern holdovers (tacos, the Baja salad) plus, from Nick Di Angelo, a handful of pastas. But, mostly, it features crowd-pleasing comfort standards, from Wagyu pigs in a blanket and chicken pot pie to marinated skirt steak and burgers.

Since 1989, when he opened George Martin "The Original" in Rockville Centre, Korten has presided over numerous restaurants on Long Island. Now his group comprises that first venue plus The George, which opened last year in Rockville Centre, and George Martin’s Strip Steak in Great River, established in 2011. He also owns three restaurants in Hanover, Maryland.

George Martin’s Grillfire, 33 Sunrise Hwy., Merrick, 516-379-2222, georgemartinsgrillfire.com