By Kolby LaMarche

Radio Bean, a longtime, all-star Burlington music venue and bar, is closing its doors after more than 25 years, citing an unaffordable insurance premium amid years of financial strain.

In an Instagram post on yesterday evening, owner Lee Anderson announced that the club’s insurance company had required nearly $30,000 to be paid in full by Sept. 9 for its liquor liability policy premium, a policy that protects bars, restaurants, and other alcohol-serving businesses if an intoxicated patron causes bodily injury or property damage, which has happened downtown many times before.

The business cannot cover the cost, the owner said, meaning the Radio Bean will close for an unknown period, with Anderson writing that the hope is for the interruption to be “as short and seamless as possible, if possible.”

The announcement marks a sharp turn for a venue that has been a fixture of Burlington’s independent music scene since Anderson opened it in the early 2000s at 8 North Winooski Avenue, near the gateway to the Old North End. 

What began as a small coffee shop and performance space evolved into an eclectic nightclub known for its mismatched lamps, intimate stages, and a wide range of local and touring acts. It hosted emerging artists alongside more established names and served as a regular gathering place for musicians, artists and late-night crowds.

Anderson, who started the business in his early 20s, had already signaled significant challenges earlier this year. 

In January 2026 he posted that he intended to step aside as sole owner after 25 years, citing the demands of raising two young children and the difficulty of sustaining the operation as it had been run. 

He said the club remained open with months of shows booked and that he was seeking a buyer or cooperative ownership arrangement that could carry the space forward. 

At the time he described financial struggles as “no secret” and noted that the business needed to diversify beyond dependence on ticket and drink sales. Offers that emerged left him with no proceeds from a sale and substantial remaining obligations.

The latest insurance demand proved decisive for the space. Anderson said in the September post that he did not want to close after more than a quarter-century but that “the slog of accounting, legal work, and negotiations have dragged on” and that he lacked the means to cover the premium.

Radio Bean’s situation sits within a pattern of pressure on downtown Burlington businesses that has led to numerous closures. Independent music venues have been particularly hard-hit. Nectar’s, a Main Street institution for roughly 50 years that helped launch acts including Phish, closed permanently in 2025 after a temporary summer shutdown. 

Its operators pointed to the heavy impact of prolonged city construction on Main Street, reduced foot traffic and public safety concerns. The District VT, the rebranded iteration of the South End venue formerly known as ArtsRiot, shuttered in May 2025 after what its operators described as an increasingly challenging landscape.

Other downtown establishments have also closed or struggled. 

Retail shops on Church Street, coffee shops and restaurants have cited declining customer traffic, construction disruption from the city’s Great Streets project, and persistent problems with open drug use, homelessness and disorder that many owners say deter visitors. While there has been progress, like the re-opening of Main Street, business are still reeling from a long, challenging time. 

Each closure has chipped away at the character of Burlington. Downtown and nearby neighborhoods once supported a denser ecosystem of independent bars, cafes and performance rooms that felt idiosyncratic and locally rooted. 

The loss of Nectar’s removed a historic stage with national recognition. ArtsRiot’s final closure eliminated another South End gathering place. Radio Bean’s uncertain status now raises questions about whether a similarly eclectic, low-overhead venue can continue in the same form. And Higher Ground remains, well, higher ground for artists and groups looking to perform.  

Anderson has not announced a permanent end or a final show. 

The September post left open the possibility of a relatively brief interruption if financing or a new arrangement can be secured. Whether that materializes, and under what ownership or operating model, remains uncertain.