A South End bar and venue with one of Burlington’s busiest live-music schedules is for sale, along with its related soda brand. Justin Bunnell, owner of Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge and Venetian Beverages, told Seven Days that he has moved out of state and is looking for a buyer for both businesses.
The lounge in the Soda Plant will remain open while it’s for sale by word of mouth, Bunnell said.
“I’ve got a really good crew right now, and it’s running really well,” he said. “I just think Venetian really deserves an owner that can be present.”
The Soda Plant was Venetian Beverages’ original home in 1917, when Bunnell’s great-great-grandfather created its signature ginger ale and opened the M. & F.C. Dorn bottling plant there. Bunnell revived the brand in 2017 but hasn’t bottled ginger ale “in a couple years,” he said.
The speakeasy-inspired lounge serves cocktails and craft sodas and has a reciprocal seating arrangement with Brio Coffeeworks next door. Since it opened in 2022, it’s become a popular venue for local jazz, blues and folk musicians; weekly trivia and karaoke; and what Bunnell called “other wacky entertainment.” All performers are paid, he said, estimating that the business has put $30,000 to $50,000 per year into its local programming.
Bunnell moved to Orlando, Fla., in late August when his wife got a “once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity,” he said. He’ll continue to work in video production, his other field.
“I’m hoping someone will continue the name, preserve the history,” Bunnell said of the lounge, “and keep doing the same kind of weird half-speakeasy, half-venue thing.”
Interested parties can contact justin@venetiansodalounge.com.
The original print version of this article was headlined “Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge in Burlington Is for Sale”.
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