The Frog & Turtle gastropub in Westbrook announced Sunday that the restaurant will close for good in early March after 17 years in business, due in part to financial pressure caused by required upgrades to their property.

“The City is requiring us to put a sprinkler system next door,” read a Facebook post from chef and co-owner James Tranchemontagne. “Without it our spaces are unrentable. The added financial hardship of no rent mixed with the other financial challenges in today’s market have led to our difficult decision.”

Westbrook Fire Chief Stephen Sloan said Tuesday morning that the city has been working with Tranchemontagne since 2019 to bring the buildings up to code. “We have been more than flexible,” Sloan said.

Tranchemontagne explained by phone Monday that the Frog & Turtle owns four adjacent commercial office spaces, three of which have tenants. He estimated that the project could end up costing as much as $200,000, forcing him to raise rents too high to keep their tenants in place, or to attract new ones.

“I’m not saying it’s 100% the city’s fault. It’s just the final nail in the coffin. This is sometimes the price of doing business,” he said, adding that The Frog & Turtle has faced the same financial challenges as other restaurants in the five years since the pandemic struck. “It’s a hard enough industry, maybe it’s just time to say goodbye. I’m just thankful for the people who have come by, and what we built.”

In 2019, The Frog & Turtle overhauled its kitchen, renovated the first floor and added a second floor and rooftop deck to its operation. That renovation triggered requirements that the buildings meet current city and state life safety codes, Sloan said. To get the necessary permits, the city required that Tranchemontagne either install a sprinkler system or build a fire wall, Sloan said.

In 2020, the city gave him a two-year extension to complete the task, Sloan continued. The following year, the city again worked with Tranchemontagne, who was planning to sell the building at that time, “and received a firm commitment that sprinklers would be installed by the end of 2025,” Sloan said. This year, Tranchemontagne appealed the requirement to install sprinklers. The process of appeal, the city stated in a press release Tuesday , “had lapsed years earlier.”

“I understand that the cost of retrofitting a century-old building is both both financially and logistically challenging,” Sloan said. “At the end of the day, the cost of installation is far less than the cost of a human life.”

Frog & Turtle, which launched at 3 Vallee Square (formerly Bridge Street) in September 2007, will be open until Sunday, March 2.

Editor Peggy Grodinsky contributed to this story.