Heralded Restaurant To Close After 9 Years In Wallingford

WALLINGFORD, CT — Tap & Vine will close its doors after nine years in business, according to a Facebook post from the restaurant's owner.

The last day of business will be Aug. 16.

The owner said he's been in the restaurantbusiness for 49 years and will retire.

The space at 171 Quinnipiac St. is slated to become an Irish pub called Malachy's Public House. Malachy's website shows it's "coming soon to Wallingford."

Tap & Vine is described as a "unique American restaurant" with a "creative menu." The establishment has a 4.5-star rating on 383 Google reviews.

"Our nine year run has been a roller coaster — Covid and labor challenges intertwined with wonderful times and people," the owner wrote in the post. "I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's been an honor and a privilege to open our doors and hearts to you."

Tap & Vine was previously named one of the state's top 10 gastropubs by Best Things CT.

The owner wrote on the Tap & Vine website that the idea for the restaurant came around following an observation his wife made when they went out to eat – she's a wine fan and he's a craft beer enthusiast.

"...we either had to pick a place with a great beer list and a lousy wine list or the opposite – a great wine list and a lousy beer list. She pointed out that we couldn’t be the only couple with that problem, so I should focus just as much on the wine list as the beer list. That’s where the name Tap & Vine came from – (Beer) Tap & (Grape) Vine."

There were 79 comments on the owner's Facebook post as of Friday morning, with many customers lamenting the loss of the local business but also celebrating the owner's "well-deserved" retirement.