DENVER — The 1Up Arcade Bar is closing its LoDo location after 15 years, with its doors shutting for the last time Monday.
Owner Jourdan Adler said the last few years have been difficult.
Watch Denver7 reporter Adria Iraheta's story in the video below:
"As with every business, we came out of the pandemic pretty strong, but you know, downtown has been through a lot of changes,” said Adler. “It's just been, you know, a bit cumbersome to keep the momentum alive at that location.”
The 1Up is not alone. Church and Union, located down the block, also announced its closure on social media over the weekend. Rock Bottom on 16th Street has also closed permanently.
While Rock Bottom and Church and Union didn’t give Denver7 a reason for their closures, Adler pointed to broader economic pressures as a factor in his decision.
"It's definitely slowed down, I think, with the economy and everything around us,” he said. "Operating costs and rent costs are high."
Denver7 has been listening to Colorado business owners’ concerns over rising operating costs for some time now.
But despite the recent string of downtown closures, the Downtown Denver Partnership says 29 new businesses have opened so far this year — mostly food and beverage/entertainment locations, per the latest May 2026 data.
Denver's Downtown Development Authority told Denver7 it has invested over $200 million to support new retail and entertainment, which includes funding for five targeted business support projects.
For Adler, the LoDo closure is not the end.
He is already moving forward on a new, larger space in Belmar at the old Lucky Strike location — where operating costs are lower.
"As a whole, we're really looking forward to just having a little bit of a less stressful environment and also being able to bring the customer just an expanded arcade collection," said Adler. "We're just really excited to still be at the core of arcade culture in Denver."
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