Denver’s Triangle Bar Closes Again Indefinitely

On October 8, Triangle Bar of Denver closed indefinitely, allegedly after losing business due to houseless camps nearby.

Triangle Bar was established in 1973 inside the Triangle Lounge. This historical building saw the Triangle Bar’s shaky beginning and first closing in the aughts. The Triangle opened once more in 2017 and stayed open until October 8, when it had its final night open.

The housless camps in question span all across downtown, lining sidewalks on Champa, Californa, Stout, and Welton. The Triangle Bar is also not the only establishment near the homeless camps, with Cheese Meat Board, the Mercury Cafe and the British Bulldog being among them. In The Triangle’s case, they claimed it was a matter of safety. Between their patrons and the people living in the camps, they felt there were too many potential outcomes of those crowds mixing.

The automated email that The Triangle Bar owners sent to patrons says, “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 27. For one single afternoon, we had our neighborhood back. Less than 24 hours later, camps returned, and despite our pleas, (we) have seen no action from the city to stop the re-entrenchment.”

While it is entirely understandable that the owners are frustrated by their proximity camps, this sentiment comes across bit callous. While this may not be the intent, unfortunately, houseless people often face discrimination simply for not having a place to live. While it is disappointing that a beloved LGBTQ+ bar has closed, this incident simply highlights the growing homeless crisis. These people living in the camps have nowhere else to go, and the city is not helping them.

Hopefully by the time winter hits us, as it is predicted to be cold and wet, the city will have helped the unhoused individuals who wish to live indoors.

Photo courtesy of social media