Victory Bar is Shuttering After More Than a Decade on Southeast Division

The venue was named WW’s 2013 Bar of the Year.

(Leah Nash)
By Andi Prewitt

Southeast Division Street bulwark Victory Bar, which withstood the neighborhood's foodie evolution for 12 years, has closed its doors for good.

The bar, which was named WW's Bar of the Year in 2013, made the surprising and brief announcement on its Facebook page yesterday morning that the business would be calling it quits.

"It's the last night of Victory my friends," the statement reads. "Come say goodbye tonight or tomorrow."

Owner Yoni Laos told Eater that "new and more creative adventures" prompted the shuttering, but that does not mean a new bar elsewhere.

When it opened in late 2006, the subtly Orwellian-themed gastropub started out humbly with small plates to pair with wine before it shifted its focus to beer imported from Belgium. It was a time when few bars embraced the style, leading the way on a trend that took hold with a number of breweries and bottle shops. The venue also served solid, affordable cocktails alongside warm and filling dishes like the perennial favorite spaetzle.

Laos also shared that the Victory Vision—a collection of live videos from the likes of Bowie, the Who and the Kinks that played on old school TV sets—could find another home at some point.

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