The party is over for The Place, or at least it will be Monday when the San Jose cocktail lounge that boasts “the longest bar in town” closes its doors for good. The bar, which lost its lease, is going out with a daylong party on Sunday for customers.

The Place at 1058 S. First St. has been around for decades, though like any good dive, just how long is a matter of debate. A sign inside says it’s closing after 35 years in business, but others point to 1988, when owner Kevin Rosenkrantz took over what is officially known as “Kevin’s Place.”

Gives a nod to the city’s beer scene with multiple art installations touting bottle caps, a 12th Man beer-can wall, was designed by Julie Coyle Art Associates using recycled caps from Washington breweries.

The party is over for The Place, or at least it will be Monday when the San Jose cocktail lounge that boasts “the longest bar in town” closes its doors for good. The bar, which lost its lease, is going out with a daylong party on Sunday for customers.

The Place at 1058 S. First St. has been around for decades, though like any good dive, just how long is a matter of debate. A sign inside says it’s closing after 35 years in business, but others point to 1988, when owner Kevin Rosenkrantz took over what is officially known as “Kevin’s Place.”

Bartender Debbie Rodriguez says the secret to the Place’s success is that it’s not “cliquey.” “People don’t give anyone a hard time,” she said. “It’s just comfortable. I find myself here even when I’m not working. Who goes to work when they’re not working?”

Adrian Vargas Jr., who was having drinks Thursday evening with Susan Plascencia, said he’s been coming to The Place since he was 21 — half of his 42 years — after being aware of it as he grew up in Willow Glen. “It was just a local establishment that played all the old school music,” he said. “They know us by name here, and it’s got personality.”

The building itself goes back to the 1930s, and for decades, it was the home base of minor-league baseball player Larry Perrina. He opened the Pantry Lunch there in the mid-1950s, which was later renamed Larry’s Dugout before he moved to Palm Springs. The bar and its pool table were among the San Jose locations used for “Kiss Shot,” a 1989 TV movie starring Whoopi Goldberg. Newspaper clippings about the production are among the bric-a-brac on the walls that you’d associate with a classic dive.