Meal Makers, a popular restaurant in downtown Burien for a quarter century, will close permanently on Dec. 15.

Owner Kevin Fitz announced the closure of Meal Makers following a unanimous vote by the Burien City Council on Nov. 27 to assume the lease Meal Makers has with its landlord.

Strobel Family Investments owns the restaurant building and land, which is targeted for Town Square development.

Fitz thanked the lawmakers for their decision to assume his lease and provide him the opportunity to explore other options.

"They gave me options, including paying for relocation of the business, but closing makes the most sense for us," he said later.

"In light of the circumstances, my wife and I feel it's a positive opportunity for us to make some different choices in our lives."

Town Square construction at the Meal Makers location is scheduled to begin next year.

After negotiations between Burien and the Strobel sisters for the city's purchase of the property were unsuccessful, Burien used its power of eminent domain to acquire the site.

The property will be used for a city street, a public park and public parking.

Both a King County Superior Court judge and the Washington Court of Appeals have upheld Burien's eminent domain authority in this case. The Strobels have taken their appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Lawmakers noted that assuming the Meal Makers' lease now gave its owners freedom to explore a variety of options in planning the future of the restaurant.

This will also allow the Strobels to receive rent revenue until there is a decision about the future of the property.

"We're very pleased to give Meal Makers the freedom to plan the future of the restaurant," said Mayor Joan McGilton.

"As long as Meal Makers was the tenant under the lease, they had to honor the lease and were unable to plan for the future of the restaurant. "

Fitz said he has been an unwilling party to the property negotiations between Strobel and the city.

"I have nothing but support for the Town Square project and I want to see it move forward," Fitz added.

The city has agreed to pay Fitz fair market value for his business, which will be determined by independent appraisals.

Construction of the Town Square project on the Meal Makers site isn't scheduled to begin for several months. The lease agreement calls for the city to assume the lease by Jan. 1, paying approximately $5,000 in rent each month.

Construction on the Town Square project, a public-private $150 million development, will begin in early 2007.