click to enlarge - Courtesy Of Matt Walters
- The Archives in Winooski
The Archives arcade bar has shuttered its Winooski location after about two years in business, leaving only its Burlington location on College Street. Sunday was the last day of service at the bar at 45 Main Street, where customers could sip craft beers and cocktails alongside games of pinball and Donkey Kong.
The Archives opened its Winooski location in July 2021, having postponed its originally scheduled March 2020 opening due to COVID-19. The second location was a "pre-pandemic plan that ... proved to be unsustainable," operations and beverage director Sean McKenzie told Seven Days on Monday. He said staffing shortages and the difficulty of bouncing back from pandemic conditions contributed to the closure, which was announced in a Facebook post.
"I have a lot of mixed emotions," McKenzie said. "We're happy that we had the opportunity to be there [in Winooski], even though it was somewhat short-lived."
Given Winooski's smaller population, McKenzie said the owners never expected the Archives' second location to garner the same traffic as Burlington's. On the northeast side of Winooski's traffic circle, the space had previously housed Oak45, Mister Sister, Drafts N Crafts, and Eden Boutique Taproom & Cheese Bar.
A local favorite, the Archives won three Daysies awards this year: best bar, best bartender and best place to drink alone. The Winooski location featured arcade games not offered at the Burlington location, such as the rail shooter game Time Crisis 3.
Touched by the outpouring of community support on the Archives' final weekend, McKenzie expressed optimism that Winooski regulars would transfer their allegiance to the flagship location in Burlington.