A neighborhood watering hole just on the outskirts of downtown Vancouver has closed its doors after fickle sales, its owners announced on Facebook.
The Rusty Chain bar and grill at 3100 Columbia St. had its final day of business Monday. Owners Elizabeth and Bill Walters, who could not be reached for comment, posted on the social networking site that business had been “up and down, but ultimately we haven’t gotten the sales to sustain us through the winter.”
The couple thanked customers, friends, family and vendors who supported the business since it opened in August 2016.
“This has been a dream of ours for a very long time,” the post said. “We are fortunate and lucky to have had the support from all of you in order to be able to follow our dreams. … We aren’t giving up! We are just moving on.”
Adorned with hubcaps, gas station clocks, license plates and other Americana, the restaurant took on the vibe of a highway honky-tonk. Yet, it jumped out from a more residential area, with Carter Park neighborhood at its sides — homes, a park and a dentist’s office were across the street.
It seemed to be a hit with many neighbors, open to all ages during the day while offering food and a spacious back patio where it staged live music. An October story in The Columbian said 90 percent of its clientele lived in the neighborhood, and sometimes the bar faced noise complaints and concerns of loitering and littering.
The Rusty Chain isn’t the first business there to go by the wayside. Before the Walterses signed their lease, it was the Commonwealth Cafe for a few months in 2016 and Marcell’s Hemp and Latte House before that.
Dating to 1912, the building had long been a neighborhood market under different names: Bagley’s Market, Harris Market, Bauman’s Grocery and, in the early 2000s, Carter Park Store, according to records.
William Irvin and Susan Courtney own the property, according to Clark County property records.
