Casualties.

Today at 8:55 am, the Storm Crow Tavern posted the following to its Facebook page:

There’s no easy way to do this, so we’ll just say it plainly: the Storm Crow Tavern will not be re-opening, regardless of the short-term resolution of the Covid-19 crisis. 

It’s been estimated that up to 75% of all the independent restaurants that closed in the wake of the virus will never re-open. Restaurants run on narrow margins at the best of times. The Tavern already had many challenges, such as an expiring lease, and the coronavirus, for us and many other small restaurants, is a fatal blow while we’re already down. 

That said... the Alehouse on Broadway (and the Manor in Toronto) are potentially different stories, and we are going to fight like hell to re-open those Storm Crows as soon as we can. 

It’s a sad day for us, for our employees, and for our regular guests. For over seven years, the Storm Crow Tavern has been a special place in all our lives: more than just a “nerd bar,” it was a neighbourhood haven for the misfits, the geeks, the oddballs and bohemians of Commercial Drive and Vancouver in general. 

The Tavern had an amazing run. And while it may be gone, other Storm Crows will rise, like those less-awesome phoenix-y birds, up from the ashes when this conflagration has ended. 

Stay safe. Stay sane. We’ll see you all again one day.

A sad day indeed. Although I switched my allegiance over to their Broadway location when it opened, solely due to its adjacency to home, the original branch always held a special place in my affections.  The original Storm Crow introduced a kind of pub that I'd always wanted, and on behalf of "misfits, geeks and oddballs" everywhere, thanks for proving that not every bar has to have a hockey game playing.

- Sid