RALEIGH - The last day at the State Soda Shop was one of long lines spilling onto Salisbury Street as crowds of downtown regulars lined up for chicken salad and grilled cheese sandwiches, and Oreo milkshakes.

Workers from the Electronic House Arrest office next door brought cupcakes, and a notebook was left for people to jot down their goodbyes to Treva Long and Judy Calles, longtime employees of the tiny grill. It closed Friday after 80-plus years in business. The building that houses the soda shop is being torn down to make room for a new county courthouse.

"We'll miss y'all. A place to come for a decent milkshake," one wrote.

"Get back open soon," another pleaded.

And simply put, "Thanks for being a true Raleigh institution."

The last milkshake went to John Goist, a Raleigh native visiting from his new home in New York City, where he works on documentaries about how development swallows up business. It was his first time in the shop.

"Cheers," he said as he tipped the vanilla milkshake toward Calles.

At 4:05 p.m., five minutes past the scheduled close time, it was time for Long to say her own goodbye. She switched off the red neon "Thick Shakes" and "Sandwiches" signs that had tempted passers-by for years.

Long hugged Calles as the two cried in the darkened storefront.

With that, the shop went from being a Raleigh institution to a part of the city's history.

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