Beloved Vancouver geek bar closing, putting some memorabilia up for auction

Replicas from the Star Wars series are seen beside a wall of board games at the Storm Crow Alehouse in Vancouver, B.C. (Facebook/Storm Crow Alehouse)

The Storm Crow Alehouse has announced it's closing down this month, citing the "brutal" impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the service industry.

The celebrated Vancouver geek bar – known for its cocktails, board games and extensive decorative memorabilia – listed supply chain disruptions and staffing shortages among the many recent challenges it's faced.

"This isn't the letter we wanted to write to ring in the new year," reads a message on the Storm Crow website.

"With great sorrow, we must announce that the Storm Crow Alehouse will close its doors permanently in January."

Another location on Commercial Drive, which opened almost 10 years ago, already closed in April 2020, but a third, Storm Crow Manor, remains open in Toronto.

Storm Crow said the Broadway location will be open "for a few days" this month so patrons can visit one last time, barring new public health orders.

The owners are also putting some of the famous Storm Crow memorabilia up for auction, with proceeds going to staff. Some of the items listed online include a Numenorian shield prop from Lord of the Rings, the Hound's helmet from Game of Thrones, and a Klingon Bat'leth set from Star Trek.

"Thank you, Vancouver, for an awesome decade, and thank you to all Crow employees past and present," Storm Crow's farewell message says.

"Who knows? Like a different mythical bird, perhaps one day we will rise from the ashes in a new form, more powerful than ever before."