PASADENA >> After more than four decades on South Lake Avenue, Hamburger Hamlet will close its doors this week, restaurant officials said.

But the potential bad news for many longtime customers and all the Hamlet employees had a silver lining: Namely the spot at 214 S. Lake Ave. will reopen as soon as next week as a branch of Du-par’s Restaurant & Bakery, the eatery that got its start at Farmers Market on Fairfax.

“This is an end of an era that will bring on a new direction,” store manager Guillermo Mireles said of the restaurant the first opened in 1967.

Since the Hamlet closing and Du-par’s opening will coincide, the decor of the Pasadena landmark could stay pretty much the same.

“We’re really excited because it’s right in our wheel house. People know us there so it should go really well for us,” said W.W. “Biff” Naylor, owner of the Du-par’s restaurant chain.

Pasadena’s Hamburger Hamlet opened 17 years after the original Hamburger Hamlet served its first customer off Hollywood’s famed Sunset Boulevard in 1950. The chain was founded by actor Harry Lewis and his wife, Marilyn. In its most recent inspection by the Pasadena city Health Department, the restaurant scored a 73 — or a “C” grade.

“Hamburger Hamlet was the first upscale, casual restaurant chain — a category that didn’t even exist before Harry and Marilyn,” said Naylor, a longtime friend of the Lewises. “Well, Du-par’s is kind of the first in upscale diners so in that sense we’re preserving that ideal.”

Mireles began working for Hamburger Hamlet in 1980 and fondly remembered the Lewises. He’s seen the restaurant struggle and is optimistic about the new start.

“We’re very fortunate to have found (Naylor) to take over,” he said.

Naylor said he talked to Hamburger Hamlet founder Harry Lewis about the successes Hamburger Hamlet had in its heyday before the 93-year-old former actor died last year. Naylor, the son of restauranteur Tiny Naylor, said he hopes to do the Lewis family proud. He took over Du-par’s in 2004 and has since looked to restore the restaurants, famed for their doughnuts, “to their former glory.”

As word of the local Hamburger Hamlet’s closure spread via social media on Thursday, Mireles said plenty of customers and ex-employees alike came in to say their last goodbyes.

Carole Abelmann of Pasadena has been a patron at Hamburger Hamlets throughout L.A. for decades and remembered during high school cruising around in her father’s Cadillac with friends and stopping at the restaurant for chocolate cake.

When Hamburger Hamlet opened in Pasadena, just walking distance from her house, Abelmann said she was so excited and often brought her brother’s children in for a meal. Tears came to her eyes as Abelmann shared her memories, from watching football games at the bar with friends to nibbling on chicken wings with her parents.

All 54 Hamburger Hamlet employees in Pasadena are expected to keep their positions when the restaurant opens as Du-par’s, Mireles said.

Hostess Kristine Brock is one of the staff members who plans to stay on through the transition. She has only worked at the eatery for one year, but was a longtime customer. While Brock said she will miss the menu, she is excited for the change — especially for the restaurant’s new hours. Du-par’s will be open 24 hours, seven days a week with extended bar hours.

The last Hamburger Hamlet left in the L.A. area is in Sherman Oaks at 4419 Van Nuys Blvd. and Naylor said he doesn’t plan on touching that piece of area history. The 73-year-old added, however, that he is working on opening a Du-par’s in Las Vegas.

“I’m old and can’t spread myself too thin. The ones I’m going to do will be really nice, where it’s really needed,” he said. “I think one or two more is all I can muster.”

Reporter Michelle Mills contributed to this report.