The Village Greek restaurant in downtown Sycamore will serve its last meal on New Year’s Eve.

Makie Maratos, owner of The Village, 420 W. State St., and Sycamore State Theater – which share the same building – said he’s decided to refocus himself as an entrepreneur.

That means closing The Village and focusing on the theater, he said.

“It became kind of tough to handle both the way both needed to be handled,” Maratos said. “I felt like it wasn’t doing either of my customers justice by splitting my time between the two locations.”

The Village’s closure was announced on social media on Wednesday. Once it’s shuttered, gift cards purchased for The Village will be honored at Sycamore State Theater, according to the online post.

The restaurant’s last day of business will be on Dec. 31.

Maratos said 2025 was a tough year for the business.

“There was good times and bad times, of course, with all businesses, and this year has been a little bit tougher than most,” Maratos said. “I think a lot of restaurant owners have felt that as well, and seen a downturn a little bit.”

The building that houses Sycamore State Theater turned 100 in 2025. The building cost $115,000 to construct and opened on Nov. 28, 1925, according to the DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

This summer, seats inside the theater were damaged, according to a social media post by the theater on Aug. 27. Days after the post about damaged chairs, a fundraiser was held by Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity at the Hy-Vee gas station located at 2700 DeKalb Ave. to support the Sycamore State Theater’s remodeling efforts.

On Thursday, Maratos said the damaged seats were repaired “pretty easily, but he’s seeking to get new seats for much of the business.

Since purchasing the business in 2021, Maratos has made efforts to rejuvenate the downtown theater. He worked with the city to have a mural painted on the building‘s west wall earlier this year.

Maratos said another goal is “getting a stage put in one of the theaters to bring back some live events, and make it a little small venue for the community and for the area.”

Although he’s now poised to close The Village, he said he understands that’s the life of an entrepreneur.

“This is just the other side of it, where things have to change one way or the other,” Maratos said. “I think it’s important not to get down about it, and not to worry too much about it. It’s just a part of the process. If you’re an entrepreneur or business owner, you kind of know these things and know that things don’t always go the right way. Just gotta keep your head up and keep moving on.”