SOUTH PORTLAND – After 12 years of giving it his all, including his life saving, Tom Howard, the owner of JP Thornton’s Cafe? & Deli in South Portland was forced to close his doors on March 24.

This week, Howard said while he did not want to give up on the business, there was nothing more he could give to keep it going.

In September 2012, JP Thornton’s was flooded when there was a water main break in front of the restaurant, which is located at 740 Broadway, and Howard has never been able to recover from the disaster.

In all, he estimates that his losses amounted to more than $1 million in damages and lost sales. After the flood, the deli and sandwich shop was closed for five days, the pub was closed for a week and a half and the main dining room and function center was closed for eight months.

More than anything, Howard said this week, it was the loss of income from the function room, where he routinely featured local bands, that finally did him in.

“I’ve been struggling since the flood,” Howard said. “There’s just been a lot of factors,” including financial instability and a frustrated work force, that led him to make the decision to close.

“I lost a lot and had a hard time recovering,” he added. “I couldn’t get any assistance anywhere, and I just couldn’t get caught up after the flood.”

Howard said his customers, who are mostly local, began going elsewhere and although “I gave it my all. I’m not a quitter. There just came a point where I couldn’t do it anymore.”

What’s made closing his doors even harder for Howard is that up until the flood he had a successful business. “But everything just went poof. This was a life-altering experience. I tried to survive it. I just couldn’t. The whole thing has honestly been a nightmare.”

Howard, who lives in Westbrook, has three children and two grandchildren. At age 59 he’s back on the job hunt when he had once hoped to retire after fulfilling his dream of owning a restaurant.

“I know in my heart that I gave it my best shot,” he added. “I met a lot of good people and would like to thank everyone for their support. I didn’t want it to end this way, I just got caught in a bad situation. The wind just got taken out of my sails and I got to the point where enough was enough.”

Jon Jennings, South Portland’s assistant city manager and economic development director, said this week “it is definitely a disappointment to have a great restaurant establishment like JP Thornton’s close.”

He added that it’s “never a positive development to have any business cease operations, but we continue to see a lot of interest in that part of Broadway as evidenced by the recent opening of Easy Day (a restaurant and bowling alley).”

And, Jennings said, he does not see the closing of JP Thornton’s as a trend to be concerned about in terms of economic development in South Portland. “Each business is unique and a variety of factors play into whether any business is a success,” he said.