By Guy Page

On the heels of the announcement of the pending closure of the popular Vermont Pub and Brewery, Burlington resident, State Senate candidate, and former downtown deli owner Louie Manno has listed 14 downtown businesses that have ceased operations since Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak was elected in March, 2024.

Manno (with WKDR radio show partner Jim Condon) operated Radio Deli on Pearl Street from 2000 – 2007. On Tuesday,  he posted the list on Facebook with this comment: “These are the prominent businesses that have closed during Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak’s watch. Those of you who know anything about probability mathematics know that trends tend to dominate.”

Downtown businesses owners have blamed poor sales on slow recovery from the Covid-19 shutdowns; extensive downtown repairs that closed streets; too little city action to reduce street crime, drug crime, and disorderly conduct discouraging both customers and employees; too few police and too little prosecution; and/or growing numbers of vagrants occupying public spaces. 

The City Council’s Burlington Forward plan to address downtown’s problems has at least temporarily stalled over disagreements between City Council Progressives and Democrats. Mulvaney-Stanak does not support Burlington Forward, saying that her administration has already forwarded a plan, and that the city doesn’t have the manpower to manage homeless encampments, as Burlington Forward advises.

After a deadlock at Monday night’s City Council meeting, the Council voted 9-3 to form an ad hoc committee consisting of the mayor, City Council President Ben Traverse, and the chairs of the Democratic and Progressive Council Caucuses to come up with what the mayor calls a bipartisan way forward.

The ad hoc committee will provide an update to the City Council on December 7.

Manno is seeking one of the three Chittenden Central senate seats, now occupied by incumbent Democrat/Progressives Tanya Vyhovsky and Martine Gulick; newcomer Nikhil Goyal is the third Democrat nominee. Incumbent Sen. Phil Baruth isn’t seeking re-election. 

Manno said the following list of defunct businesses may not be comprehensive:

“Burlington is apparently not back!”, Manno said, in an seeming reference to Mulvaney-Stanak’s “Burlington is back” claim at a June, 2026 press conference.

 “In fact, it’s quickly slipping away before our eyes. A change has to come,” Manno added. 

Traverse is pondering a run for mayor in the March, 2027 City Meeting.