When O’Carr’s in downtown Birmingham opened Feb. 1, 2017, it was a revelation for fans of the iconic Homewood restaurant renowned for its chicken salad plates, milkshakes and warm cheesecake with chocolate filling in the center.

But all good things must come to an end.

Cameron and June Carr, the owners of O’Carr’s, will close their downtown restaurant on Friday, March 29. It will be open Monday through Friday next week from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Carrs bought the two downtown buildings that O’Carr’s occupies a decade ago, when the ground floors housed a barber shop and a beauty shop. The barber and beautician kept operating another seven years.

The Carrs had renovated the buildings to also feature three lofts, and the couple moved in to one of them and rented the other two out.

But in November 2018, they sold the two buildings and four-car garage to Matthew Gregory, owner of Gregory Dream Homes, for $1.75 million. The Carrs moved out of their downtown loft in December after two years there, and bought a house in Bluff Park.

While Cameron has been running the downtown O’Carrs, June has had to carry a heavier weight running the Homewood location. The couple has been married for 46 years, and business partners all that time.

Cameron, 67, said he needs to go back to the Homewood location full-time to help June. “She is worn out,” he said.

“It was our dream to come downtown,” he said. “There’s a community downtown. I’ll miss being part of the vibe.”

There could possibly be another restaurant to follow in the downtown location across 18th Street North from the Alabama Theatre at Third Avenue North. “I sold him all the contents of the restaurant,” Carr said. Gregory moved in to their old loft and continues to lease the other two lofts, Carr said.

The Carrs opened O’Carrs in 1975 in Homewood, 2909 18th St. South, as an ice cream shop, then started offering sandwiches and soups, then became a deli. They catered the VIP section of City Stages from 1985-95 and during that time developed the chicken salad recipe that became the cornerstone of the O’Carr’s menu.

“It’s been such a huge item for us,” he said. “At City Stages we fed 4,000 people a day. Chicken salad is now 45 percent of our sales. It’s a monster. It was just intended to be another menu item. We serve thousands of pounds of chicken salad a week.”

After next week, loyal O’Carr’s customers will have to go to Homewood to get it.