• File: James Buck
• Misery Loves Co.'s Rough Francis sandwich

Misery Loves Co., the Winooski restaurant and market, will close on Monday, May 16, after the Waking Windows festival, for a monthlong renovation that includes the return of indoor seating, co-owner Laura Wade said.

"We're turning 10 this year," Wade said. "We opened on a shoestring, and we're overdue for a kitchen expansion and some other upgrades."

The renovation, Wade detailed, will "mesh before-COVID and after-COVID realities." During the pandemic, Wade and her husband, chef/co-owner Aaron Josinsky, transformed what had been a full-service, sit-down restaurant into a specialty food market with a takeout menu and limited outdoor seating.

Now, "We're stitching the two concepts together," Wade said.

When Misery reopens in mid-June, it will still have a market offering specialty foods and prepackaged meals for off-site consumption. It will also continue its menu of freshly prepared items that customers can take out or eat on-site, such as the popular Filthy Fries, salads and Rough Francis fried chicken sandwich. Service will remain exclusively at the counter.

The main entrance will return to the restaurant's original door, and about 30 indoor seats will supplement a newly refurbished outdoor area with about 20 seats. Misery will also probably expand its daytime hours, Wade said, with the latest closing time being Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m.