The Burger King on Connecticut Avenue in Van Ness, known for its ’80s and ’90s movie memorabilia and more recently for being the only publicly accessible Burger King location in D.C., permanently closed its doors over the weekend after more than 40 years.

While talk of closing the location has been going on for years, the closure itself appears to have been sudden. A list of holiday hours on the location’s doors included New Year’s Day from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.. By New Year’s Day during its planned business hours, however, staff had posted a sign next to the holiday hours announcing the location’s closure.

So long to a DC legend. Signs on the doors say the only publicly accessible Burger King in the District (and likely the only one in the world with 80s movie decor) has closed permanently. (4422 Connecticut Ave.) pic.twitter.com/muUqx8BT99

— Forest Hills Connection (@foresthillsnews) January 1, 2023

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A Burger King spokesperson confirmed the closure with DCist/WAMU in an email Tuesday and said there are currently no plans for what to do with the movie memorabilia  — which included E.T. and friends flying on their bikes and the head of the Jaws shark bursting from the wall. It did not specify why the location was closed.

The spokesperson also said that affected staff have offers at other Burger King locations. However, staff rallied in front of the restaurant a week after its closure, saying Burger King had “lied” and that they no longer have jobs.

The workers were fired when the store shut down on December 31. @BurgerKing officials lied to @DCist and other reporters saying that the workers were offered jobs at other locations. pic.twitter.com/VA7jcwY0y8

— Claudia Jones School for Political Education (@ClaudiaJonesEdu) January 6, 2023

Burger King corrected its earlier statement, confirming with DCist/WAMU on Jan. 11 that not all employees were offered positions.

“The Franchisee who owns and operates this restaurant has confirmed the initial intent was to offer their Team Members roles at other locations,” Burger King said in a statement. “However, the Franchisee has now confirmed not all of their employees will be offered positions at the Franchisee’s other Burger King restaurants. BKC apologizes for any confusion our prior statement may have caused.”

When the Burger King opened in 1980, it was the first fast food restaurant on Connecticut Avenue in the District. It survived pushback from some of the neighborhood’s more affluent residents, who said the affordable restaurant would draw “low-class people” and “loitering.” There were also concerns that the drive-thru could endanger pedestrians.

The Burger King franchise’s owner, Mark James, said in 2018 the site was too expensive to run. But he later shifted gears, announcing plans to renovate the building in 2020, saying it was “dilapidated,” before saying again the following year that the business may have to go.

As all that went on, Chick-fil-A also made a yearslong push to move to the site — one that was ultimately unsuccessful, again due to drive-thru issues. The fried chicken restaurant is instead opening a kiosk at the UDC Student Center nearby, one still listed as “coming soon” on its website. As of now, there is no apparent successor to the two storied 5200 sq foot site.

The restaurant’s closure leaves one Burger King in the District, at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, but it’s not accessible to the general public.

This story has been updated to clarify an earlier statement from Burger King, which said that staff at the Van Ness location were given job offers at other locations.