FORKS — After nearly three years of Twilight-related events and food, the Twilight Lounge has shut its doors permanently, along with The Lodge in Forks, a 1-year-old restaurant upstairs in the same building.
The Twilight Lounge, 81 N. Forks Ave., originally opened in 2009 as a location for bands, events and gatherings for fans of the books set in Forks.
In early 2010, the owners of Dazzled By Twilight — Annette and Tim Root — opened the restaurant, which housed a bar and food with Twilight-themed names.
A sign in the window and a Facebook.com message announced the closure Tuesday.
“With a huge thank you to our supporters both friend and foe, the Lodge in Forks, Dungeon Bar and Twilight Lounge bid you a fond farewell,” said the Facebook page at http://tinyurl.com/46cvnfl.
“It is our biggest hope for Forks that someone will come forward to further the work we have begun and take advantage of a boost up.”
Dazzled By Twilight will remain open in its location at 11 N. Forks Ave.
The Roots did not return messages left at the store for comment.
Tour operation sold
Earlier this month, the couple had announced selling the tour portion of the business to the couple who operated it, Travis and Rianilee Belles.
At that time, a statement posted online said Annette Root wanted to spend more time with her family and children.
On Jan. 11, a message was posted that alluded to theft from the store.
Annette Root decided to open Dazzled By Twilight in fall of 2008 after traveling to the town and being disappointed by the lack of Twilight merchandise.
Six weeks after her visit — in November 2008 — she had moved from Vancouver, Wash., and the store was opened.
Thousands of fans
The books, which enchanted Root enough to open her store, have also drawn tens of thousands of fans.
In 2010 alone, at least 73,000 fans visited Forks and signed in at the Forks Visitor Center.
The books — Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn — tell the tale of Forks teenager Bella Swan; her vampire boyfriend, Edward Cullen; and werewolf and wannabe boyfriend Jacob Black.
The first three books have already been made into movies, and the fourth one will be divided into two movies.
The first portion will be released Nov. 18 of this year, and the next will be released in mid-November of 2012.
In 2009, the Roots opened the Twilight Lounge and eventually a larger version of the store with more merchandise and a decor to make fans feel as if they were in a Twilight version of Disneyland.
The Lodge in Forks is named after a restaurant that Bella and her police chief dad, Charlie, visit just after her graduation in the third book, Eclipse.
A former potential name, Volterra, had been met with controversy after a Seattle restaurant of the same name issued a cease and desist letter.
The tour operation will not have a break in service, a statement posted on the Facebook page said.
The phone number for Dazzled By Twilight, 360-374-8687, will remain the same.
