Denver gay bar closing immediately, citing “ever-expanding encampments”

A prominent downtown Denver gay bar called one of the nation’s best LGBTQ+ bars last year by Tasting Table is closing immediately, citing “ever-expanding encampments.”

The Triangle Bar, 2036 N. Broadway, announced in an email they were closing after they took a survey that found over 60% of their customers were visiting less frequently because of homeless encampments.

“With heavy hearts we announce that, effective immediately, Triangle Denver is closing indefinitely thanks primarily to the ever-expanding encampments which have surrounded and suffocated the businesses in our neighborhood,” the email stated.

The survey of over 500 people found 75% of customers visited less in 2023 than in 2022.

Answering the question “How have each of the following factors influenced your interest in visiting the Triangle positively (you wanted to visit more) or negatively (discouraged you from visiting) in the past year,” 61.4% of respondents said “homeless encampments/safety concerns” was a negative influence, according to a screengrab of the survey results.

“We have been injecting funds regularly into the bar just to keep the doors open while pressuring the media and the city to take corrective action which finally occurred on September 27th,” the email states. “For one single afternoon, we had our neighborhood back. Less than 24 hours later, camps returned, and despite our pleas, have seen no action from the city to stop the re-entrenchment.

“We can’t ask our guests or staff to continue to endure this health and safety nightmare. Our well of patience and resources has run dry.”

Event and brunch ticket holders will be issued a full refund, according to the email, and guests who bought VIP cards will be given a pro-rated refund.

Customers are asked to email [email protected] and include their names, the prices paid, the dates of purchase and the last 4 digits of the cards used.