Rent Trouble Shutters 'Beloved' Manhattan Diner

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Manhattan diner that opened more than 50 years ago served its last meal Sunday night.

The owners of the Market Diner on 43rd Street and 11th Avenue decided to close their doors because they can not afford to pay the rent anymore.

"Disappointed, that's all I can say," owner Vasilios Blakias said. "We are very disappointed and very frustrated."

A high-rise apartment will replace the building.

Experts say it's another sign that New York diners are fading.

"The basic problem is that the rent's darn high for these guys," Aaron Elstein, of Crain's New York Business, told CBS2. "You're running a diner, you're selling burgers, you're selling fries, you're selling fried eggs -- there's only so much money you could make doing that."

There's an estimated 400 diners left in New York - down from about 1,000 diners over the last 25 years.