Staff from one of York's oldest restaurants, The White Rose, in Jubbergate, were waiting to hear whether they would be kept on by new owners of the business, after its sale in January 1981.
The four full-time, one part-time and six casual workers had been given notice on New Year's Eve.
Owner at the time, Goodfare Catering Ltd, of which the chairman and managing director was Mr Ernest Barnett, had run the restaurant since 1956.
Mr Barnett, aged 78, said: "I am no longer a young man." The restaurant was due to close within a week of the announcement for alterations.
Famous throughout the world, the 400-year-old timber-framed building managed by York trust, had started life as four cottages.
Ten years later, the premises in Jubbergate, York, near the market, opened under a different name - Grandma Batty's Yorkshire Pudding Emporium, serving Yorkshire puddings of the highest quality.
GRANDMA BATTY'S 1991.jpg
There was more to Grandma Batty's than just high-quality Yorkshire Puddings and a historic site. The restaurant could cater for up to 120 diners at a time.
GRANDMA BATTY'S YORKSHIRE PUDDING EMPORIUM 1991.jpg
GRANDMA BATTY RESTAURANT MANAGER 1989.jpg
1989: Staff from the York Restaurant were going ape with a gorilla to raise as much money as possible for charity. Pictured restaurant manager Gillian Graham and Gerald the Gorilla.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here