After more than a year of dark and quiet, the fully equipped vinyl bar at 388 Pine Street in Burlington’s South End will be reborn by mid-October as Doma Bar. Sadie Williams told Seven Days she will open her business in the space Paradiso Hi-Fi occupied from November 2022 to August 2024, serving a succinct snack menu; cocktails; and a small list of beer, wine and other drinks — all ordered at the bar. She plans to have DJs spinning vinyl three nights a week and other rotating events.
Doma’s lead cook, Emily Calhoon, ran lunch service at Dedalus Wine Shop, Market & Wine Bar in Burlington, the now-defunct sister business to Paradiso, which was replaced by La Reprise. Doma’s menu may include shrimp cocktail, soft pretzels and stuffed fried olives. The cocktail menu will be split evenly between traditional drinks, low-alcohol aperitivos and zero-proof options, Williams said.
Williams, 35, is opening the business in partnership with her father, Larry Williams, who was an investor in Paradiso. When that business closed permanently, Larry retained its assets, including its high-fidelity sound system.
Sadie did freelance marketing for the Dedalus group for several years and knew both businesses well. “I loved this space,” she said of the vinyl bar. “I wanted to do my own project and didn’t want to reinvent the wheel.” Armed with a business plan, financial proposal and brand identity, she pitched her dad.
The 50-seat Doma will cultivate a slightly different vibe from Paradiso, Sadie said. She’s changing lighting and adding warmer textures, envisioning the music as a backdrop to friendly gatherings. “One of the things I thought this place wanted to be was a living room,” she said. “More like, ‘Do you wanna come over to my house?’”
Follow @domabarvt on Instagram for updates.
This article appears in Sep 10-16 2025.
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