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A lot has changed in Duluth since Rexall Grill opened in 1969. In nearly five decades, the sleepy, rural town of 2,000 people grew into a busy suburb. Strip malls and neighborhoods replaced historic buildings and farms, and the town now boasts a population of 30,000 people. Still, the small diner, which started as a soda fountain in the adjoining pharmacy, remains virtually unchanged. Over the years they've added a few tables, but the menu has stayed the same.

Having been born just two years before the Rexall Grill opened, the popular Duluth restaurant has been a part of Chris Nantz's life for as long as he can remember. As he sat at the diner's counter after eating lunch Thursday, he pointed to some of the booths near the front and recalled coming to the restaurant with his family as a kid in the 1970s. Not only can he still rattle off his regular childhood order, but also how much it cost.

The Duluth Rexall Grill almost didn't make it to its birthday this year. Owner Lynda Alley had planned to close the popular Duluth restaurant's doors for good at the beginning of the year because of the hit revenues have taken as the COVID-19 pandemic dried up business. The community rallied around the eatery through increased business and a GoFundMe effort, however, and that has enabled the restaurant to so far stay open. And, the Duluth Rexall Grill will celebrate its 52nd birthday on Tuesday.

The slogan on the back of the T-shirts at Duluth Rexall Grill says it all: "What happens at the grill stays at the grill." And plenty happens at the Duluth Rexall Grill -- and some of it is actually about food. The iconic eatery with the soda fountain touch on Buford Highway soon will celebrate its 45th anniversary. There are some war stories, but it still manages to be open seven days a week, and to have enough appeal to serve as a popular gathering place.

The operator of Rexall Grill, a Duluth institution forced to close on Wednesday, owes $500,336.60 in state sales taxes and penalties, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned. Gail Herrin had not paid taxes in a five-year period from January 2004 to October 2009. The bill was more than $248,000, with interest, penalties and collection fees doubling that amount, according to documents from the Georgia Department of Revenue.