File: Daria Bishop
Collin Sourdiff holding a plate of Wicked Wings and a Woodstock Inn & Brewery brown ale
After 14 years in various locations,
Wicked Wings will close this weekend. The final day for the casual restaurant and bar at 211 Main Street in Winooski will be Sunday, September 1 — or sooner if they run out of food, co-owner Collin Sourdiff told
Seven Days on Friday morning.
Disruptions from the
Winooski Main Street Revitalization Project — which started in April and is anticipated to continue through summer 2026 — led to a 60 percent drop in dine-in business and a 35 to 40 percent drop overall, Sourdiff said in an interview for a recent
story about the construction.
"A lot of my regulars I haven't seen in a long time," he said. "It's hard for me to keep staff because of that. We're just getting hit hard."
Sourdiff's decision to close came after he spoke with
Seven Days two weeks ago, he said. Poring over the numbers, he realized the diminished business couldn't meet the rising costs of goods, staffing and taxes.
Wicked Wings started at a now-closed spot in Johnson and operated a location in Essex Junction before moving to its brand-new building in Winooski in 2021. The business has long sponsored
Essex CHIPS, a youth-focused community health nonprofit in Essex Junction that offers a free afterschool program and teen center for local families. Wicked Wings raised more than $50,000 per year for the small organization, according to executive director Christina Corodimas. Sourdiff hopes another local bar or restaurant will take over offering
Break Open Tickets in support of the charity.
Sourdiff doesn't plan to leave the restaurant world, he said, but would rather work for someone else than run his own business.
"I love this industry. It's my whole life," he continued. "I'm proud of what we did; it just seems like it's time. Fourteen years is a good run."