Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship
In the corner, behind Craig, sits a false wall outlet people used to put money in. The kids knew about the outlet. They would come in for Sunday brunch and slide it open and take whatever money was inside.
That was decades ago, and to this day there’s still money in it, said Andrea Francis, a regular at McKee’s, the Winooski pub where that tradition is remembered fondly. Her youngest son is now 26 years old and living in Virginia, but he still loves going to Mckee’s when he comes home.
“I’ve gotten to know other people’s kids, they’ve gotten to know my kids,” she said. “It’s not just patrons. It’s a family network”.
Craig McKee opened McKee’s Pub and Grill in 1987 and owned the business for about 10 years before selling it to his son, Lance.
The intimate setting features a wraparound bar, where regulars can be found sitting every Monday and Friday night.
Craig, now 85, is always there in his seat at the corner of the bar, said Francis.
In 2023, Lance sold the business to Ryan Johnston and Jamie Lacourse and entered into “semi-retirement.”
The new owners expanded the menu and started hosting trivia and karaoke nights.
But Johnston and Lacourse met a whirlwind: The cost of goods, the cost of the kitchen and downtown Winooski’s major road construction proved a business nightmare. So one day this past August they announced Mckee’s would close — leaving the regulars without a place to call home.
“It was hard not having a home base,” said Susan Calame, a frequent customer at McKee’s since 2007.
For many McKee’s was what’s often called a third place: somewhere they could socialize outside of work and home.
“We just needed to see one another to have that connection. And it doesn’t work going to people’s houses. It has to be a neutral zone,” Francis said.
So, she and several peers made a group chat to stay in touch and coordinate meetups at other local businesses.
After only a few months of being closed, Lance McKee bought the bar back from Johnston and Lacourse and made the decision to reopen the business.
“Everyone says, ‘After all these years, why didn’t you retire? Why would you get back into it?’ And it’s because the community that we have known and loved just didn’t have a place to go,” he said.
Lance renamed the bar to McKee’s Original Bar & Game Room — a slight shift from its previous moniker, McKee’s Pub & Grill — and simplified the menu and activities. As the name suggests, he decided to scale back the business to the way it was originally run.
With lower costs of labor, a limited menu and no entertainment costs, Mckee’s could stay afloat — and once again provide a place for people to return to, Lance said.
“It’s like our sign that says, ‘Welcome home,’” he said.
The sign, featuring a smiling caricature of Craig Mckee, hangs right next to the entrance of the bar, welcoming each guest.
Over 30 photos hang on the wall of the bar, a new one taken each year featuring the McKee’s family, as the usual crew likes to call it.
The photos allow those who may have grown up, moved away or died to remain a part of the community.
“Some people have passed away that were regulars and they are still up on the wall,” said Jim Synder, a regular at Mckee’s since it first opened.
Ed Bolin, a Winooskian who was a frequent friend in the pub, died in a January car crash. His funeral was held in Rutland, and Lance and a dozen others from the pub rented a 13-passenger minivan to drive down to show their support.
“It’s just family,” said Mckee.
When they are not at the bar, regulars attend concerts together, travel together, host girls’ nights.
When Craig McKee turned 80 years old, 20 of the regulars flew down to Florida, where he was spending the winter, to surprise him and celebrate his birthday, said Synder.
“There’s been deaths, there’s been births and there’s been weddings,” said Calame. “It’s a place where everybody gets together, and you can process stuff if it’s hard, or you can celebrate stuff if it’s good.”