For Bennett Stampes, it was a ritual to meet a group of friends every Thursday morning at the Luby's at North Star Mall. But this week, he found out it would be the last time they'd be able to meet there.

He and about 30 other members of the North Star Mall Walkers, a local exercise group, gathered at the Luby's on Thursday morning and were told the chain's oldest operating restaurant would shut its doors forever at the close of business today.

“I was certainly crushed this morning when they told us,” said Stampes, 87. “I felt so sorry for the employees there. I wish I owned a business that I could help put them all to work. It was a great thing that we had a place to meet there, and now we have to find another place to meet.”

The Luby's management and staff at the North Star location were told Tuesday morning that the company would shutter the restaurant. Employees were told the location would close because the lease expired and the cost to renew was expected to double, said Nick Prosser, an associate manager there.

It opened in 1960, the same year the mall opened. After the North Star Luby's closes, the location at 1215 S. 10th St. in McAllen will become the oldest restaurant companywide. It was unclear when that location opened.

Although the employees were saddened by the news, they weren't too surprised to hear about the closure, Prosser added.

“It was definitely sad. We're like a big family here and a few people cried,” Prosser said about employees hearing the news. “But I saw the writing on the wall before that. It's not a huge shock to the employees as it is to the customers.”

The North Star Luby's was profitable, being the second-busiest location in the city, Prosser added.

So far, about five of the restaurant's 54 employees have secured jobs at other locations, Prosser said.

The remaining employees have not been guaranteed jobs elsewhere with the company. They will be given a severance package and recommendation letter and can apply at other locations, Prosser said.

One other Luby's location, in Houston, also is set to close, chain spokeswoman Toni Niece said. When that location will shut down and which Houston outlet it is weren't released.

No other closures were expected in San Antonio. There are 12 locations in addition to the North Star site.

Niece also said the company was looking into opening another Luby's in San Antonio, but that a site hasn't been identified.

General Growth Properties Inc., a Chicago-based real estate investment trust, owns the mall. No one at the mall office was available for comment and calls to company officials weren't returned.

General Growth Properties owns several malls that are home to about 24,000 stores. Along with North Star Mall, the company also owns The Shops at La Cantera.

Late last year, General Growth Properties emerged from the largest real estate bankruptcy in U.S. history, Bloomberg reported in April. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2009, the company owed $27 billion. Since then, the trust has struggled to regain profitability, posting a $1.4 billion loss in 2010 and a $1.3 billion loss in 2009, Bloomberg reported.

On Thursday at North Star Mall, it was business as usual at Luby's.

Patrons stood in a line that stretched outside the restaurant's front entrance. Tables filled up quickly inside the restaurant and in its indoor patio where patrons enjoying their Luanne Platters while doing some people watching as post-holiday shoppers hunted for bargains.

There were no signs posted anywhere inside the restaurant to inform people about the news, leaving many patrons unaware of the closing.

Mary Lou Allen was one of them.

After moving to San Antonio from Chicago 30 years ago, the North Star Luby's has been a place she frequents, she said after finishing her lunch there on Thursday. She remembered that when her in-laws would visit, Luby's always was their first stop. And all these years later, she still manages to make it in at least once a week, she said.

“I hate to see them leave here; they're a staple at this mall,” the retired city worker said. “To me, there's really no other place to eat in the mall other than the food court and I won't eat there. It's a shame.”