Like nearly every small city in America, Madison’s booming cocktail scene of the early 2000s ended with the beginning of the COVID era. Truth be told, cocktails were dying prior to the pandemic, but the coronavirus was the proverbial coffin nail. Madison’s Capitol Area bars took huge hits when bar manager Grant Hurless left Heritage Tavern, Brocach closed its doors, and owner Mandy Arnold shuttered the Opus Lounge, one of our favorite bars in the world. The Merchant and Maduro remain, but the city is more about food again. Because of the current shortage of aluminum, small craft beer joints will also likely go the way of the dinosaurs, or like Lake Louie, get purchased by a big competitor. It’s sad times for the Lounge Lizards.
