Popular downtown watering holes, The Lodge (Facebook) and The Woods (Facebook), will both be closing at the end of the month.
Co-owners Aaron Dudek and Jason Anderson told Bungalower that they made the hard decision to sell the bars in the face of a changing downtown and client base.
“We’ve really loved being downtown, but it’s completely different now compared to when we opened and we’re ready to focus more on our concepts out in the neighborhoods for the time being.”
– AARON DUDEK
Those other properties include popular neighborhood watering holes like Burton’s Bar in Thornton Park and Sportstown in the Milk District, both of which have been hits with the locals in their respective neighborhoods since the duo acquired them.
Dudek shared that the concepts, which are located in the historic Rose Building at 49 N. Orange Avenue [GMap], are being sold to some unnamed partners in the ownership group behind sports bar Parlay (Website), which opened just up the street this summer. We reached out to hear what they have planned for the bars but hadn’t heard back at the time of this post Edit: We’ll be posting a follow-up article soon.
The sale is expected to close at the end of the month, but the liquor license isn’t included and will be held in escrow until further notice, as Dudek and Anderson expect to open a secret concept in the next few years.
A farewell party is being planned for Saturday, September 24, which is currently set to be the last day of business for both bars. There will be a happy hour for any past employees, reps, and regulars who want to raise a glass with the owners. Any updates on closing or the farewell party will be posted on their social media channels.
The Lodge would have turned 20 years old in April 2023 and The Woods would have been 10 years old this November.
