For nearly six decades, Frank Guido has been a fixture in the area’s restaurant scene. There was BGS, the first one, opened in 1968 after he borrowed $15,000 with his wife. There was Casadina, named for his daughter. There was Long John's, Mariners Harbor, Port O' Call, Little Italy and more — more than 20 restaurants, by his count, over a career that made him one of the Hudson Valley's most familiar restaurateurs.

Now, at 80, Guido is calling it a career.

"I'm 80 years old and not feeling well," Guido said, as he deals with a lung cancer diagnosis. "It's time to retire."

His retirement closes a remarkable chapter in the area's restaurant history, but Guido's story began long before the restaurants.

He grew up in East Kingston in a large Italian-American family. His father was one of 16 children, and his father and five of his brothers worked in the brickyards and later at the cement plant. Five of Guido's uncles also served in the military at the same time, and every year in recognition of both veterans and active-duty service members, Guido serves a complimentary buffet to more than 400 on Veterans Day.

Guido said the family taught him the value of hard work and service. His grandparents came to the United States from Italy, but they were proud Americans, he said. In his grandmother's house, a picture of the pope hung alongside a picture of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

"They were born in Italy, but they were proud to be Americans," Guido said.

He said he wouldn't trade his childhood for anything.

Like many children growing up in that era, Guido started working young. At 9 or 10, he shined shoes at his uncle's bar in East Kingston. At 14, he began washing dishes and making pizzas at his Uncle Ernie's place on Broadway. He eventually attended Marist College, working his way through school tending bar.

"I loved the restaurant business," he said.

After graduating, however, Guido went to work for the IRS. The job provided a steady career, but Guido soon discovered that collecting taxes wasn't for him. In 1967, he recalled, he was sent to Green Haven Prison to collect unpaid taxes from Joseph "Crazy Joe" Gallo, a reputed member of the Colombo crime family. Guido was a young IRS employee making about $4,700 a year. Gallo had not filed taxes for five years. The encounter left an impression.

Guido said Gallo threatened him, and he began reconsidering his career choice.

"I was only 21 years old," Guido said.

He didn't leave the IRS because of the incident, he said, but the work made him uncomfortable.

"I didn't like collection, and I didn't like what I was doing," he said.

Then came an opportunity.

In 1968, while Ulster County Community College was being built, a tavern known as the Four Corners had burned. Guido and his wife borrowed $15,000 and opened BGS near the college, on the corner of Lucas Avenue and Cottekill Road. Guido knew many of the students and construction workers building the college; they became his customers.

"It was a very successful business," he said. "That was my first restaurant, 1968."

Guido estimates he owned more than 20 restaurants over roughly 60 years, including Long John's Uptown, Mariners Harbor, Old Savannah, Port O' Call, Little Italy and Casadina. He also operated several neighborhood bars and grills. Casadina, which means "House of Dina" in Italian, had a particularly personal connection. Guido named it after his daughter, Dina, who was born in 1970. He opened the restaurant in 1972.

At one point, Guido had five restaurants operating simultaneously. But he never viewed opening them as gambles. His philosophy was simple: Treat customers fairly, respect employees and provide good service.

For Guido, the employees may have been the most important part of the business. One employee started working for him in 1983 in Highland. Over the years, she managed five of his restaurants. More than 40 years later, she is still with him.

"We're only as good as our staff," Guido said.

Guido also watched the culture surrounding restaurants change. When he was growing up, neighborhood taverns were social centers. His father and uncles would gather at the local bar to watch the Yankees or Friday night fights. The women would gather for coffee while the men went to the bar.

When Guido entered the restaurant business, he said, it was common for men to stop at a tavern after work, and Kingston had dozens of small bars.

"I owned six of them," he said.

The drinking age changed from 18 to 21. Smoking eventually disappeared from bars and restaurants. People's habits changed; late-night culture changed, too.

Guido remembers when restaurants and diners stayed open around the clock and when bartenders from Dutchess County would cross the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge after finishing their shifts and head to Kingston. Restaurant owners and their staffs also routinely patronized one another's establishments, he said.

Today, Guido said, customers are more knowledgeable about food and more health-conscious. Restaurants have had to change their menus, decor and advertising. When Guido started, he relied on billboards and magazines. Today, his son and cousin use social media to reach customers.

Guido has now passed much of the family business to the next generation. His son Mark owns Little Italy. His cousin Sal owns Mariners Harbor, which Guido sold to him. Guido said both understand how the business has changed.

He also gave his son the same advice he followed throughout his career.

"There's nothing better than customer service," Guido said. "Be fair, be honest, and everything else will fall into place."

Over the years, Guido's restaurants attracted plenty of famous customers. He became friends with baseball legends Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Phil Rizzuto. Earl "The Pearl" Monroe became a close friend. Floyd Patterson, the former heavyweight boxing champion, lived locally and became a regular at Mariners Harbor. When Patterson died, Guido hosted a gathering following his funeral. Darryl Strawberry and members of The Sopranos were among other famous visitors.

But when asked about the people he is most proud of serving, Guido doesn't focus on celebrities. He talks about the locals. Some customers have been coming to his restaurants for 50 years. Their children came after them. Then their grandchildren. That continuity means more to Guido than a famous name walking through the door.

“Not a celebrity who comes once a year,” Guido said, “but to see a lot of people that come weekly.”

Guido said he wouldn't necessarily encourage another generation to follow his path.

"It's a very difficult business," he said. "If you're a chef and you love cooking, it's a wonderful thing."

If Mark stays in the business for another 30 years, Guido said, the Guido family will have spent roughly a century in the restaurant business throughout the Hudson Valley.

For now, Guido is stepping away. He has had the restaurants, the famous customers, the late nights and the decades of changes. But when he looks back, the legacy he talks about isn't measured in restaurants owned or celebrities served. It's measured in people.

"We've served James Gandolfini, we served Robert De Niro, we served so many people," Guido said. "But the biggest thing is serving the locals, the friends."

For nearly 60 years, those customers keep coming back. And for Frank Guido, that has been the greatest honor of all.