A popular decades-old restaurant in Stony Brook is in jeopardy of closing if the landlord does not extend its lease.

Pentimento struggled during the pandemic like many other restaurants but was able to survive the worst of it. The eatery even got creative and turned its main dining room into a market just to stay afloat.

After all that, it still may be forced to close because of a dispute with the landlord over the lease.

Lisa Cusumano and Dennis Young say their lease agreement is not being extended because they forgot to give the landlord notice for an extension.

"We were struggling to keep the restaurant alive and that wasn't the first thing on our minds," says Young. "So, we never notified them that we wanted to extend it for five more years."

Gloria Rocchio, president of Eagle Realty Holdings - which owns the property, says, "We never had problems with them but there are issues in the present lease."

Rocchio says Eagle Realty Holdings is speaking with other entrepreneurs about taking over the space.

"We still do have four people interested in keeping it as a restaurant," says Rocchio. "One person also wants to keep it as Pentimento, the name, and would keep the existing staff."

A rally was held earlier in the week and a petition was circulated to help save the restaurant.

The current owners say their biggest concern is keeping their staff members employed.

The lease agreement ends on Sept. 30. The landlord tells News 12 the owners are not behind on rent, and there's still a chance the lease could be extended.

Another rally to support the restaurant is scheduled for Aug. 29.