VISTA -- After nearly four decades of rising early to roll dough, glaze, frost and fill sweet, homemade doughnuts, the owners of a quaint, pale pink coffee house in north Vista have closed its doors.

Gathered with friends, family members and a few long-time customers outside the shop -- Slater's Donuts and Coffee House -- owners Ray and Jenny Gonzalez recounted several decades of memories and quietly said good-bye Saturday.

"In 37 years, we have had nothing but beautiful people," Jenny Gonzalez, 89, said. "We say thank you to all those beautiful people that supported us and kept us young."

The Vista couple, who live in a small home behind the drive-through doughnut shop, served customers one last time Saturday morning and then ceremoniously locked the doors and toasted to their years in business.

Faced with the aches and pains of old age, the couple said they decided to close the doughnut and coffee house to pursue medical treatment and give their bodies a much-needed break.

"I have a lot of things to be repaired on myself," the 78-year-old Ray Gonzalez said, in reference to his severe osteoporosis and a recent diagnosis of prostate cancer.

He added, however, that once he is a "new man" again -- after undergoing surgery -- they hope to reopen the shop.

The Gonzalezes moved to Vista with their two daughters and several grandchildren after purchasing the doughnut shop in the spring of 1969. They opened it on April 1 of that year.

"Ray bought it from the Slaters, and he wanted to change the name until he went to change it and saw how much it cost," the Gonzalezes' eldest daughter, Vicki Alvarez, explained.

Although Ray Gonzalez was unable to change the name, the couple put their mark on the shop in many other ways.

They built the drive-through, made room for tables and chairs inside, and provided thousands with fresh doughnuts, buttermilk goods and hours of early-morning conversations.

And over the years, the shop -- which neither wanted to run for more than seven years -- became a focal point for the family and the community.

"We did it all here," said the Gonzalezes' grandson, 48-year-old George Solano. "This is where we learned to work, learned to drive … It was more than just a shop, it was a life -- a livelihood."

Solano, like many of the couple's nine grandchildren, saw what it was like to put in long hours, earn money and have responsibilities, while dishing doughnuts and cleaning off tray after tray alongside their grandparents.

"It's kind of a bittersweet time," Solano added, noting that, while he is sad to see the store close, it's time for his grandparents to take a break. "It's time to move on and do other positive things."

Contact staff writer Shayna Chabner at (760) 631-6604 or schabner@nctimes.com.