BUTLER TWP — In his wallet, Frank Sydlik carries a laminated pay stub for $81 from the Lyndora Hotel that is over 40 years old.

He said he remembers receiving it when he showed up for his shift all those years ago, after watching his son be born in a Mercer County hospital.

On Monday, Aug. 29, the owners of the Lyndora Hotel announced the restaurant will be closing next Wednesday, Sept. 6, after 76 years of business.

Mike Pawk, who owns the business along with his siblings, said they tried to sell the business and license to continue its legacy in Butler, but to no avail.

“It’s been on the market for a few years … we wanted someone local to buy it and run it how it’s been run; we just couldn’t sell it,” he said.

The business’ liquor license was recently transferred to the Sheetz in Harrisville borough, according to Pawk.

“We just were able to learn this week of the closing date … it’s all happening so quickly,” he said.

News of the closing has brought sadness to many, including Sydlik, who worked at the bar from 1979 to 2022.

“It happens, society changes. This took a long time,” he said. “I’m not just saying this because I worked there; it’s been the No. 1 spot in Butler.”

The bar and restaurant has been owned by the Pawk family since 1947. The building was constructed in 1908, serving additionally as a hotel for travelers doing business at the steel mills, Pawk said.

The building has not housed guests since the 1990s after a fire broke out on the top floor, according to county record.

“My grandfather rented rooms into the 1990s,” he said. “But it’s always been a bar restaurant.”

Sydlik said he started working at the Lyndora Hotel in 1979, when he was 18 years old.

He started off in the kitchen, then bar tending, but his duties extended to the upstairs as well, setting out toiletries for the guests.

He said he was hired by Ike Pawk, grandfather of the current owners.

“(Ike) knew how to treat people. I worked for him until his passing,” he said. “The Pawks were a fantastic family, and still are.”

According to Sydlik, the restaurant has seen a lot of changes over the years. He said it was a bustling place, where patrons could place horse racing bets on the two phones, or play pool in a room that is now the back kitchen.

“My mother said she was changing my diapers on that pool table,” he said, laughing.

He also remembered when the now-famous chicken wings were first placed on the menu in the early 1980s.

“Wings were not popular, you couldn’t give them away,” he said.

The Lyndora Hotel has since become known for its chicken wings, he said, with many sauces to choose from. Sydlik is still responsible for making two flavors: the Troll and Fireball sauces.

With the restaurant closing, he still doesn’t plan to share the recipes.

“That’s going to stay with me now,” he said.

The restaurant has a history of famous dishes, one of them being “The All,” a hot sausage sandwich, with specialized onions crafted by Ike Pawk.

Sydlik said it is no longer on the menu, as Ike wouldn’t relinquish the recipe for the onions, but the current hot sausage sandwich is still his favorite.

“I remember that sandwich, I miss that sandwich,” he said. “It was $1.06 in 1979.”

With the hotel’s location near the mills, it became a hot-spot for steel workers, Pawk said.

“Back in the day, Pullman Standard was right across the street, and Armco. You had three shifts a day; there was a constant flow of business,” he said.

Sydlik said when he first worked a morning shift at the bar, he was puzzled by his co-workers preparing drinks and setting them at specific places around the bar before opening.

“(The steel workers) had seats. They’d come in and they had seats at the bar they’d sit in every day. They’d stay from 7 to 11 a.m. and we’d cook breakfast,” he said.

At night, Sydlik said people would flock to the hotel after Butler football games.

“You’d never dream of getting out of there before 3 a.m.,” he said. “Times changed. Back in the day, people wouldn’t go out until 9 o’clock at night and the kitchen closed at 1 a.m. Now, it’s the opposite. People are in at 9 p.m.”

He added that in those days, he tended bar with current owner Mike Pawk, as well as Donny Eozzo, who now runs an open mic night at the hotel on Wednesday nights.

Sydlik continued working there until November 2022, when he suffered a stroke. During that time, he said the Pawk family was there for him.

“The Pawks have been very good to me,” he said.

Pawk said he was grateful to the community for making the Lyndora Hotel a staple in Butler for so many years.

“It’s bittersweet, but it’s time,” he said of the closing. “I just want to express gratitude and thanks for the Butler County residents who supported us all these years. We’re so appreciative.”

“They gotta do what they gotta do,” Sydlik said. “Times have changed, things are getting tough … The customers have been great … it’s sad this is happening. It’s part of all our lives. I’m going to miss that place.”

There will be an open mic night on the closing date Wednesday, Sept. 6, Pawk said.

“If you want to have a last beer and some chicken wings, do so,” he said.