Boulder Mourns Impending Closure of Dark Horse

Since 1975, Boulder’s Dark Horse has been more than just a bar to the community. It’s a rite of passage and beloved gathering place for longtime Boulderites and CU students alike. Now, one of the city’s most iconic watering holes is preparing to pour its final round, as the bar will be forcibly demolished in March 2026 to make way for the recently approved Williams Village II student housing development.

Known for its unique decor, affordable drinks and unmistakable character, the bar’s closure marks the end of an era in Boulder. For many, the news isn’t just about losing a business, but about saying goodbye to a place where friendships were formed, traditions were born and memories were made one pitcher at a time.

“[Dark Horse] is just a special place,” said former CU student and current Lafayette resident Emre Kivanc. “I have so many amazing memories here. This is where I had my first drinks with my friends when I turned 21. I came here to celebrate with everyone after I won the National Team Trials for Team USA Karate. It’s just really sad to see it go.”

Kendyl Smith, a current law student at CU, echoes Kivanc’s sentiment. “I’m extremely sad and upset about the closure,” Smith said. “When I moved to Boulder last year for grad school, Dark Horse is where I met a lot of my friends, including my boyfriend. It’s really sad that we are losing this place. It’s such a unique bar and a Boulder icon.”

When the bar is inevitably torn down in spring of next year, it’ll be replaced by a new 427-unit housing complex, including 122 units dedicated to student housing. Dark Horse isn’t the only business affected by Boulder City Council’s unanimous approval of the development in late November. Several other businesses will close to make way for the project, including Moe’s BBQ, Cosmo’s Pizza, Sprouts, Dairy Queen and Carelli’s. 

None of the units at Williams Village II will be deed-restricted as affordable, meaning the owners have no legal obligation to keep rent prices low. As something of a compromise, the owners are expected to pay millions of dollars to the city’s Affordable Housing Fund for approval. To Kivanc, Dark Horse closing to make space for more upscale housing is especially frustrating. 

“Dark Horse was one of the very few affordable, divey places left in Boulder,” Kivanc said. “Everything that is happening is so sad, especially considering they are tearing it down for more student housing. There’s already plenty of it around Boulder, and to shut down a place that’s such a centerpiece of culture to so many people in the area, it’s just tragic.”

While the original Dark Horse location will permanently go away this spring, there’s hope that the bar and its legacy can live on in Boulder, in one form or another. The idea of moving to a new location in Boulder has been floated around by the bar’s owners, but there is no solid plan as of December 2025. 

Even if the Dark Horse were to move, it would be difficult to retain the same unique atmosphere that it currently has in its kitschy two-story space. Kivanc would like to see a revival of the bar somewhere else in Boulder but is skeptical about the reality of recreating the charm of the former location.

“The building and atmosphere is just such a big part of the experience,” Kivanc said. “It’ll still be the same people owning it with the same menu and drinks, but you can never fully recreate a place like that. It’ll just never be the same. I would love to see them try to recreate it, but I just don’t know if it’s possible.”

Smith is more optimistic, saying she’d wholeheartedly welcome a new Dark Horse location, even if it’s different than before.

“I think it could be recreated if they want to move it,” Smith said. “I would fully support that. I think the place has a lot of character because of the eclecticness of it, but I don’t think that’s unreplicatable. I think they could definitely replicate it at a different location and keep the character. And I would support that. I would go to the opening.”

Despite the community mourning the loss of one of their favorite spots, there is one silver lining: Dark Horse will get the opportunity to keep its doors open for a couple extra months. While the original deadline for demolition of the beloved bar was set for December 2025, it has now been pushed to somewhere around March 2026, largely due to public outcry. 

Bill Rigler, a spokesperson for the Williams Village II project, told Colorado-based outlet BizWest that Dark Horse should close no sooner than March 14. That way, everyone who has loved the dive bar can go one last time and the location will have the opportunity to get a proper goodbye from the community.

Smith says she doesn’t plan on taking the extra time afforded to the Dark Horse for granted. Still, with the closure set for Spring 2026, it doesn’t look like she’ll be able to carry out a CU Law School tradition that’s been passed down from class to class.

“As a law student at CU, it’s a tradition that people go to Dark Horse after their last final,” Smith said. “So it would be sad to have my last time going to Dark Horse be before that. And I definitely think, given the extra time, I will go to Dark Horse more often and enjoy it while it lasts.”

The sentiment seems to be shared by the project’s developers. Petur Williams, general partner in Williams Family Cos., the owner and developer of the project, wrote in an email to City Attorney Teresa Tate and City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde that he’s thankful that the bar will still get some extra life and no workers will be laid off before the holiday, as reported by BizWest.

“On behalf of the Williams family and tens of thousands of Dark Horse fans everywhere, I want to express my sincere thanks … for the thoughtful and collaborative work that made it possible for the Dark Horse to remain open into the spring,” he wrote. “I am grateful beyond words that your staff has found a way to keep dozens of people employed through the holiday season and created an opportunity for the community to properly celebrate and say goodbye.”

Although time is limited for the Dark Horse, Smith, Kivanc and tens of thousands of CU students, alumni and Boulderites are hoping the next few months offer enough time to say a proper goodbye to one of their favorite bars—and maybe, just maybe, turn that farewell into a “see you later.”

“I would love to be back here someday, whatever that looks like,” Kivanc said. “I hope I get that opportunity.”