A popular watering hole in Walkerville is closing its doors, for now.
The Walkerville Tavern on Wyandotte Street East has announced it will not reopen at its current site once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
Owner Cara Kennedy says she was up for a lease renewal but her landlord has decided not to renew the lease.
Kennedy has owned the tavern for about five years and says she was surprised by her landlord's decision, adding after posting the announcement on social media, the response from the community has been uplifting.
"Five BIAs have reached out personally to me offering something within their area which means so much to me considering the fact that I'm on our BIA," says Kennedy.
She says is currently looking at other sites.
"It's one of those situations that's sort of sad because we don't want to be looking at something that somebody was not able to reopen," says Kennedy. "We're also in a situation where we can find something and take the time to find the right spot."
Kennedy says the closure has nothing to do with the pandemic.
"Our lease was up, our landlord chose not to renew it, plain and simple. He [the landlord] has that prerogative to do that, make that very clear it's not COVID related. This was his choice to do, he has every right to do that."
The tavern has been open for roughly nine years and Kennedy took over the tavern from family members.
She says the past five years have been exciting and says there is no reason to throw in the towel.
The Walkerville Tavern has been closed since March 19 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.