One of the most familiar eateries on Marietta Square is going out of business at the end of the month.

Tommy's Sandwich Shop, which opened its doors on the corner of Roswell Street and Atlanta Road in 1977, will serve its last meal on March 29, according to a report in The Marietta Daily Journal on Wednesday.

Owner and store namesake Tommy Smith told the newspaper that he has been unable to resolve a dispute with his landlord, Manning Properties, which raised his rent from $1,200 to $1,750 a month starting in February.

Tommy's has been a staple of the Cobb courthouse lunch scene since the late 1970s, specializing in gourmet sandwiches -- notably chicken salad and Reuben -- on a variety of breads including croissants, as well as deviled eggs and sweet tea. 

When Tommy's opened, there were few lunch options for courthouse workers, lawyers and jurors. Two doors down stood the now-closed Jimmy the Greek's, and on the other side of the square was Shilling's.

But according to the Eat On the Square website, the immediate vicinity currently boasts more than two dozen other places to eat, many of them vying for the same lunch business.

While many of them are open for dinner and on the weekends, Tommy's has been a lunch-only operation, open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“Business has been really slow for the last four years,” Smith said to the MDJ. “ We've got 31 other restaurants we’re competing against here on the square. It’s a food court now. You can only divide the pot so many times.”