One of Denver’s first LGBTQ+ bars closed its doors Thursday after being “smothered” by the homeless encampments crowding the city.
The Triangle Bar lost about 50% of its business in recent months, and owner Scott Coors attributed the tavern’s failure to downtown Denver’s relentless homeless problem.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce that, effective today, Triangle Bar Denver will be closing our doors indefinitely. As our survey confirmed, the encampments around us pose a health and safety issue that has slowly suffocated our business,” Coors told Denver7.
“We have worked hard to provide a safe and welcoming place for all members of our community to celebrate, play and give back to others for the past 6 years. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to those of you who have supported us through thick and thin, it has been a pleasure and an honor to be part of your great family.”
The historic bar met its tragic end after conducting a survey of 500 people in which 75% of its customers confirmed that they visited the business less frequently and more than 60% cited safety concerns due to the encampments.
The historic bar met its tragic end after conducting a survey of 500 people in which 75% of its customers confirmed that they visited the business less frequently and more than 60% cited safety concerns due to the encampments.Denver7/YouTube
Tent cities, filled with trash, mattresses and drugs, have also created an eyesore in the center of the city.
The Triangle Bar, which has been a staple since the 1970s, is located less than a tenth of a mile from a massive tent city at Broadway and 20th Street.
Another encampment, which made headlines last month for running its own beer garden for the homeless, can be found just a few steps in the other direction.
The Broadway encampment has been a persistent nuisance for months, forcing Coors since August to consider closing the local landmark if the “inescapable problem” of homelessness did not improve soon.
Another encampment, which made headlines last month for running its own beer garden for the homeless, can be found just a few steps in the other direction. Denver7/YouTube Tent cities, filled with trash, mattresses and drugs, have also created an eyesore on the downtown scene.Denver7/YouTube
The tent city has been repeatedly demolished and was even cleared just four days before The Triangle Bar’s last day, but was rebuilt almost immediately.
“We had a clean neighborhood for less than 24 hours before they returned to the space where the “sewer house” was,” Coors said.
Other bars and restaurants in the neighborhood have also reported drastic drops in owed revenue, with all blaming the homeless encampments.
The Triangle Bar will reopen for one day only, Oct. 8, for what Coors is calling the “Farewell Beer Bust” to celebrate the “life of the Triangle.”
The Triangle Bar will reopen for one day only, Oct. 8, for what Coors is calling the “Farewell Beer Bust” to celebrate the “life of the Triangle.” Denver7/YouTube
The bar’s closing comes just a day before the city announced that its Denver Basic Income Project, which regularly delivered lump sums of cash to its homeless population, was showing promising results.
The project started six months ago and has so far shown that beneficiaries spend the money on vital needs and sleep less on the street. They seem to be getting full-time work at higher wages when they are given more money.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn