Pasadena’s longtime Bodega Wine Bar will close its doors on Saturday, October 24, a victim of the turbulent economic landscape, the owners announced on Instagram Thursday
As partners Jason McEntee and Greg Seares wrote, “18 years ago, with the investment and support of a small group of family and friends, with the luck of finding a landlord that had no business taking a chance on us, and with the trust of a tiny staff that knew way more about running a restaurant than we did, Bodega Wine Bar was born.”
The bar was their first endeavor, with their success allowing them to open another spot—The Sugar Bar—in Santa Monica. That one will remain open for now.
As the partners wrote of the popular local hang, “Many of you are familiar with the magic this place has held over the years. We call it magic because we have no idea how it happened, where it came from, or why it has stayed for so long. It just showed up one day and never left. You’d stop by for a quick drink, and the next thing you know it’s 4 hours later, you made 5 new friends and you have plans for the weekend.
“Many have had first dates, birthdays, rehearsal dinners, receptions, and baby showers here. “Bodega Babies” are a thing. And we’ll never forget the 17 Halloween Parties… we never could have actually planned for that.”
It’s been a crisis-to-crisis history for McEntee and Seares, a married couple. The Bodega Wine Bar opened at Paseo Colorado in December 2002, a year after September 11. And now another crisis has lurched into their past. But the pair apparently remain optimistic.
As their Instagram account noted, “Our Santa Monica location lives on, and we’re confident it will make it through these difficult times.”
