A linchpin of Hinesburg’s compact dining scene for more than 30 years will shut down later this spring.
The Applins sold the Good Times Café in 2019 to Travis and Maryam Counter of St. George. The Counters expanded the business a year ago when they opened the Good Times Café and Matryoshka’s Bakery on Shelburne Road in South Burlington. That site carried on many of the menu favorites from Hinesburg while providing space for Maryam Counter’s macaron-making business.
The expansion proved to be too much to maintain both restaurants, according to a March 25 Instagram post that begins “Dear Hinesburg Community.”
“We’ve made the difficult decision to close our Hinesburg location,” the post reads. “It was a family decision, made for the betterment of both Good Times Cafe and Matryoshka’s Bakery.”
“It will allow us to spend more time with our children, while also expanding our business offerings in South Burlington,” the post reads. “There have been several factors that led us to this decision, including the difficulty in finding employees, which has had us both working 14 hour+ days 6 days a week.”
The Hinesburg location will close May 2, according to the Instagram post.
To keep showing up for patrons and community members, the owners said, they need to take care of themselves.
“We knew that … there would be difficulties in opening a second location, but felt it important to house both businesses under one roof. In the end it just wasn’t sustainable for our family,” they wrote in the post. “We appreciate all the support you have given us in the past 7 years, and we hope you come and visit us on Shelburne Road.”
Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@burlingtonfreepress.com.
