TAMPA, Fla. -- It was the end of an era Sunday for popular Tampa Bay restaurant chain Lee Roy Selmon's.

  • Lee Roy Selmon's closes last Bay Area location
  • Founded by Hall of Famer and Buccaneer Lee Roy Selmon
  • Restaurant held memorabilia auction on last day

After 17 years, the original Lee Roy Selmon's restaurant on Boy Scout Boulevard in Tampa closed its doors for the last time Sunday. It was the last one in the Bay Area.

For one last time, fans of Selmon posed with the former Tampa Bay Buccanneer's memorabilia, which decorated his restaurant.

"It's a very sad day for me. I've been coming here awhile, and it's a great hangout for me," frequent customer Kenneth Vasquez said.

Selmon's family said managing the restaurant chain grew difficult in the years following his death in 2011. 

"Even down to the details of what we served on our menu, he was a big piece of that. So not having him here, it's been hard. We miss him dearly and we want to send his legacy off in the right way," said Jennifer Ulmer, spokesperson for Lee Roy Selmon's.

The restaurant held an auction on its last day, featuring Selmon's pictures, helmets, footballs and other memorabilia. The money will benefit Selmon's Mentoring Institute at USF, which helps student athletes prepare for life after school.

"Right now, he's looking down on us and smiling and saying we're doing this right. We're giving the Tampa Bay community a true farewell," Ulmer said.

Selmon, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, played with the Buccaneers and also helped launch the USF football program as the school's athletic director.

The only other Lee Roy Selmon's restaurant still opened is in Fort Myers, which will be closing later this year. The Tampa location will become an Outback Steakhouse.