A Vancouver bar that opened in 1979 announces it will close

Bayside Lounge, a much-loved bar and restaurant in Vancouver’s West End, is set to close after nearly half a century. It first opened in 1979 and became known for its panoramic views of English Bay and throwback atmosphere. In a social media post announcing the closure, the establishment wrote that it did not feel real and thanked regulars, neighbours, visitors, DJs and staff who had made it a place for friendships, celebrations and lasting memories.

The bar will remain open until the end of October. Its team is inviting patrons to have one last drink before it closes for good, and said it would be glad to see both longtime customers and people who had discovered it more recently. The announcement drew nearly 1,000 comments in under 24 hours, with people mourning the loss of the Davie Street lounge. A Change.org petition to “save” Bayside Lounge quickly received almost 2,000 signatures.

Local DJ Pablo Zamudio said Bayside was the venue where he played his first gig. He also recognized other DJs in the city who had “held it down for years” and helped make the space special. In a comment on the bar’s Instagram, Zamudio wrote that Bayside was never just another bar to him: it had its own soul, characters and sound, and a feeling he could not find elsewhere in Vancouver.