This post has been updated.
A chalk graffiti-covered, New York Yankees-loving dive bar that touted its location “across from the divorce court” in Burlington has closed. Esox, which operated for nearly 50 years at 194 Main Street, posted an image of a headstone engraved with “ESOX” and “RIP” on social media on Sunday; the dates of life read October 2, 1978, to August 15, 2026. The post cited a rent dispute with landlords as the reason for the closure.
The bar first opened in 1978 as Atwater Kent, named for the radio manufacturer with Vermont roots. In the 1980s, it was rechristened Esox after the genus of fish that includes Northern pike.
The unassuming dive drew patrons with its pool table and large pitchers of beer. For years, Esox ran deadpan radio ads highlighting its location across the street from the Chittenden County Superior Courthouse, voiced by the late Burlington lawyer Richard Blum, one of its longtime owners. A Seven Days staff pick in 2015 called it the “best place to go if you have resting bitch face.”
The caption of Sunday’s social media post gave limited explanation for the closure: “Offered $75 short of doubling our rent, but Delta Properties moved the goal posts and are not dealing with us in good faith.”
Representatives of Esox and Delta Properties did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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