Owner Peter Carbone stands in front of the family’s namesake restaurant with his sister and business partner, Mary Ann Lorentzen, in 2020, when they announced plans to sell the business before changing their minds. FILE PHOTO/JERRY SPAR

Carbone’s Restaurant, an iconic Italian-American eatery at the border of Southborough and Ashland, will be closing on June 27 after 93 years in operation.

The town is negotiating with the owners to purchase the land for town and open space use, Assistant Town Manager Lance DelPriore confirmed in an email to the Independent Friday.

“The Town is very grateful that we were able to reach a mutually beneficial agreement,” he stated. “Our primary interest in the property was finding a viable location to construct a drinking water pump station for the proposed MWRA connection through Southborough, but we are excited to continue exploring other beneficial uses for the community.

“While the Town intends to demolish the restaurant,” DelPriore continued, “discussions continue regarding ways to commemorate its long history and impact.  A final date for the transfer of ownership has not yet been set, but we anticipate it will be sometime later this year.”

Annual Town Meeting on May 2 voted to approve Article 13, authorizing the purchase as a one-time expense as part of the town’s capital improvement requests. Article 20, sponsored by the Community Preservation Committee, stated the purchase price at $2 million. Also approved at the ATM, it authorized $185,000 to be used toward the purchase, with the condition that 5 acres in the rear of the property be designated as open space.

The property includes the restaurant, parking lot and surrounding land — mostly forested, abutting Hopkinton State Park. While the site totals more than 12 acres, the town intends to purchase the 10 acres in Hopkinton. The remaining 2 acres are in Ashland.

A MassLive article Thursday quoted Mary Ann Lorentzen — who owns the restaurant with her brother, Peter Carbone — as indicating the June 27 closing date.

The Independent was unable to reach the owners for comment.

According to the Carbone’s website, the restaurant was founded in 1933 by Ana and Cesare Carboni after they emigrated to the U.S. from Italy. The restaurant’s menu features Italian-American classics as well as chicken and seafood dishes.

While the restaurant’s closing marks the end of an era in Hopkinton, the restaurant’s intention of closing was first proposed in 2020. The Independent first reported in September 2020 that the restaurant intended to close that fall. This was one month after a man drove his car into a side wall. The building sustained no structural damage and remained in operation as the owners sought a buyer.