‘We want this to be done right,’ Colorado Springs LGBTQ bar announces reopening plans, hoping to fill gap in community

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – As Colorado Springs continues without any LGBTQ-focused spaces, the owners of an LGBTQ bar that recently shut down are once again looking to fill that gap.

Icons is a music-themed LGBTQ bar that was located on Bijou in downtown Colorado Springs. Late last year, the bar was forced to close its doors after an accidental fire at a nearby business. For weeks, the owners, Josh Franklin and John Wolfe, worked to support their employees as they tried creating a plan to move forward.

In January, the building owners terminated the leases of businesses impacted by the fire, forcing them to find new locations.

Now, weeks later, Icons’ owners are eyeing a new building and asking the community to support them.

“We did a crazy thing in 2020, in the middle of a pandemic,” said Franklin, “realized there was a strong need for a gay bar in the downtown area and we opened a gay bar in October of 2020.”

They said that need is just as strong now as the entire city goes without an LGBTQ space. Club Q has been closed since a tragic shooting in 2022, and last year, leadership at the club announced plans to reopen as The Q. So far, though, no open date has been announced yet.

“Currently, there is no gay bar in Colorado Springs, and I think that sends the wrong message,” Franklin said. “I think we’ve grown so much and there’s such a huge community here, and I would hate for the community to feel like there’s not support, not a safe space to gather.”

In a social media post, the owners shared renderings of what they hope their new bar will look like. According to Bunny Bee, the owner of La Burla Bee, most of the fundraising efforts made to support Icons have been geared toward supporting their staff.

Now, they have a fundraiser dedicated toward their plans to reopen.

The employees from Icons shared their thoughts on the social media post, saying the reopening means a lot to them and the LGBTQ community as a whole.

There is no reopen date or location announced yet, but you can support their efforts by donating to the fundraiser above.