OCEANSIDE -- On Sunday, Oceanside's iconic Flying Bridge Restaurant will close its doors after more than four decades as the city's top spot for sunset soirees.

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The restaurant's days have been numbered since 2007, when the property owner announced the spot would one day give way to a 127-room Hyatt Hotel. That move isn't expected to come for several years.

Flying Bridge owner Ron DesRosiers said last week that the sluggish economy is forcing him to close the restaurant earlier than he would have liked.

"Business is down 25 (percent) to 30 percent," DesRosiers said, adding that he would like to thank the restaurant's loyal patrons.

Through the decades, the restaurant's view has become its signature feature. From the lounge, and from restaurant tables, patrons have a 180-degree view northwest across the mouth of the San Luis Rey River and Oceanside Harbor to the Pacific Ocean.

Because the Flying Bridge is perched on the edge of a coastal bluff next to the river, the view offers sweeping grandeur that is difficult to match anywhere else on the North County coast, especially when the sun sets.

It was that view that brought Oceanside native Bill Hinderliter to the Bridge for a three-olive martini on a recent late Friday afternoon. As he sipped his cocktail, Hinderliter was horrified to learn that his old haunt would close so soon.

"My parents have brought me here since I was a baby. I had my prom here and my 50th birthday party," Hinderliter said. "This was always the special Oceanside place. It was considered Oceanside's finest restaurant. When this place closes, it's the end of an era."

Since it opened in 1963, the restaurant has seen enough milestones to pave a two-lane highway to San Diego. Holiday dinners, wedding receptions, fundraisers -- they have all turned to the Flying Bridge and its adjacent banquet room.

The late Dorothy Satten and her husband, Frank, began building the restaurant and hotel in 1943. Over the years, through multiple additions, what was a collection of small bluff-top cabins evolved into a popular spot for the Hollywood set on their way to and from San Diego or Mexico.

In 1998, when she sold the property to its current owner, Satten recounted a long list of famous visitors including the cast and crew from the James Bond film "Diamonds are Forever," President Lyndon Johnson, then-Gov. Ronald Regan, Phyllis Diller, Jerry Lewis and Debbie Reynolds.

More recently, the Flying Bridge has become a favorite spot for community fundraisers and for holiday meals.

Running the Flying Bridge is a family affair. DesRosiers and his wife, Jan, handle the business side and booking banquets while son Matthew cooks and daughter Lilly waits tables.

Now 18, Lilly DesRosiers said she has been working in the family business since her mom and dad bought the Bridge eight years ago.

"Our lives have revolved around it for so long. I mean, I've been coming here almost every day since I was 12," she said. "The customers, they're like your family."

Manager Janet Barton said it has been painful watching the family decide to give up on an enterprise they have worked so hard to keep going.

"I just can't believe it's come down to it. Between the economy and the maintenance on this old gal, it's just too much for one family to bear," Barton said.

A retired Marine gunnery sergeant who served two tours of duty in Vietnam, Ron DesRosiers is a tough guy. But the prospect of closing made him choke up a bit.

"We still have our days where it's really good. But this place is 10,000 square feet. It takes a lot to keep it going, and with the economy the way it is, you're just going to throw money out the window until they demolish this place."

Contact staff writer Paul Sisson at (760) 901-4087 or psisson@nctimes.com.