By Kathleen Pierce, kpierce@lowellsun.com

Dick Barry, owner of the Gazebo Cafe at the American Textile History Museum in Lowell, will close the eatery at the end of the month. At right is employee Barbara Wilson. SUN/DAVID H. BROW

LOWELL -- Let's do lunch. My company credit card or yours?

That was the prevailing sentiment when Dick Barry started out in the restaurant industry 30 years ago. He can't remember when the halcyon days of casual dining ended, but he knows they are gone.

"Independent restaurants, small business in general, are having a hard time surviving against the chains," said Barry, owner of the Gazebo Cafe in Lowell, which, after 10 years, is closing at the end of the month.

In a down economy, restaurateurs say one thing people quickly cut back on are lunches and dinners out.

"We see a lot of brown bags come in here," said Barry, who operates out of the American Textile History Museum building on Dutton Street, a space shared by The Sun's offices.

The Blue Taleh in downtown Lowell, owned by Steven and Pon Ramirez, had a strong first month. SUN/David H. Brow

After too many days of daily sales tallying $200 instead of the $2,500 he cleared in the late-1990s, when museum exhibits like Princess Diana's dresses saw 200 people coming in for lunch, he made the decision to close.

"The last week will be hard," the 62 year-old said with a faraway look in his eyes.

The cafe, which opened with the museum, specializes in homemade soups and multiple turkey options. It has been waiting for the museum, which closed in 2006, to reopen. A majority of business came from catering events in the now-gone museum function space.

When The Sun moved into the Dutton Street mill a year ago, and construction crews broke ground on luxury condos overhead, he thought business would pick up.

"I had visions of sugarplums, but I can't afford to wait," he said.

Over in Andover, restaurateur Vincent Cicerchia is singing the same swan song. Faced with dwindling sales and high rent, he made the decision to close his 15-year-old restaurant, Vincenzo's, last month.

"It's very sad, but I had to do it. It was a nonperforming asset," said Cicerchia, whose Chelmsford and Concord restaurants are faring better.

Like the Gazebo, Cicerchia had a few negatives stacked against him.

"Andover became a very tough market," he said. "Parking is really tough. Lunch was very, very difficult. Being on a second floor was hard, too."

The chains in neighboring Methuen seem to be enticing diners more than they used to, he said.

"In 15 years, things have changed," he said. "I can't compete with Fridays, the Macaroni Grill, places that are serving 12 (hundred) to 1,500 dinners a week in The Loop."

While midrange restaurants that fall between Bertucci's and Fridays are finding it hard to compete, independents with ambiance and personality are holding their own and, in many cases, thriving.

The fun and fresh Fishbones in Chelmsford Center is prospering, and owner Ali Zosherafatain has plans to expand. In the two years the casual bistro has been open in Central Square, business has been brisk.

"If you are good, they will come for you, no matter where you are," Zosherafatain said.

Although the recession that many fear is looming has not scared away his customers, who come from Andover, Nashua, Lexington and Newton to dine on delights of the sea, he has noticed a shift.

"People are not ordering lobsters as much," he said.

Around the corner, upscale gourmet eatery Infusions Bistro ended its lunch trade recently, though dinner business has started to pick up in the romantic dining spot.

"Even during a recession, people are not cutting back on the special occasions," said owner Philip Proulx, who serves a finely tuned menu with trendy delicacies like grass-fed beef sirloin.

Downtown Lowell has seen its share of higher-end restaurants open and thrive lately.

"We just financed the Blue Taleh, and they have had a strong month," said Jim Cook, director of the Lowell Development and Financial Corp.

Cook cites the newly opened Centro on Market Street as a success story and knows of a few more restaurants opening this spring.

On news of the Gazebo closing, he said: "That's part of the whole experience. I always understood that a percentage of restaurants don't make it."

This article appeared in the Lowell Sun on Monday, March 3, 2008