The final last-call announcement inside Sundance Steakhouse & Saloon on Friday, July 26, signified the end of the Western-themed bar’s 42 years of operation.

Located on East Mulberry Street, Sundance has served the Northern Colorado community as a bar, restaurant, music venue and dance hall for decades. The announcement that the establishment would be closing its doors was made on the brand’s social media Sunday, July 14 — just two weeks before the final closing night.

The online statement explained that the building needs “drastic renovations” for Sundance to continue operations.

The decision to close came after the business was unable to reach “a fair agreement with the property owners to ensure appropriate renovations were completed to extend our lease,” the statement read.

Members of the community responded to the news largely with support. Lines to get into Sundance wrapped around the side of the building in the days leading up to the closure, and an online petition was started in an effort to save the establishment. 

The outpouring of support from the community continued through closing night. The dance floor was constantly full, the bar was packed and a line of patrons waiting to get in the door stretched into the back parking lot.

“What we have been shown in the past two weeks is amazing, outstanding,” owner Nicole Hendrix said in a speech to the crowd on closing night. “There are no words to explain the love and support you guys have shown us, and we appreciate that so much.”

Sundance is well known to students at Colorado State University as a place where everyone could gather for a night out with friends or to go dancing. Individuals under the age of 21 were welcome until close, and Tuesday nights were known as College Night.

“I’m thankful that I had the chance to go to Sundance and that I got the almost three years that I did get to go. I sincerely hope that they find a new location, so that way, people can continue dancing up here in Fort Collins.” –Audrey Testerman, Ram Country Dance Club secretary

CSU senior Olivia Sully, who first discovered Sundance during her first year, said she returned to celebrate her 21st birthday and has been going regularly ever since.

“It’s been a place where we can just dance and see all our friends and have a drink and kind of let loose and have fun,” Sully said. “When we’re there, we don’t worry about work or school or anything. It’s just kind of like a safe place.”

That sentiment was echoed by Lorenzo Espino, a senior at CSU who has been going to Sundance for over a year.

“It was a place where we could just escape and have fun,” Espino said. “Now that it’s closing down, it just feels like the end of an era.”

Sully and Espino are both members of the student organization Ram Country Dance Club, which further connected the campus community to Sundance. The club would meet on Tuesdays to learn a line dance, and it was tradition for students to go to Sundance afterward.

Audrey Testerman, the club’s secretary, said Sundance is part of the club’s origin and is integral to the community.

“I mean, without Sundance, I don’t think RCDC would be a thing,” Testerman said.

The small group of students that started the club in 2022 went to Sundance together the week of their first line dance lesson, Testerman said. It became a tradition that continued as the club began to grow on campus.

“It’s a place where a lot of people have gained confidence, grown friendships, started relationships (and) met people that they’re best friends with now,” Testerman said. “It’s a place of very fond memories.”

Sully and Testerman also expressed gratitude for being able to go to Sundance before it closed, as many students who aren’t in Colorado for the summer were unable to.

“I’m just happy that I’ve been here all summer long, that I’ve gotten to enjoy it,” Sully said. “I know some of my friends haven’t been here or they left halfway through the summer, … and my heart breaks for them, too, because I know how much it means to them as well.”

Though Sundance closed its doors for the last time at its current location, Hendrix isn’t done with Sundance yet.

“I think we have just proven to everyone, especially the landlords, that Sundance is not four walls,” Hendrix said. “This is a community, and we’re not convinced that Sundance ends here.”

The possibility of Sundance opening at a new location has been met with support, and many members of the community have voiced their hopes for the future.

“I’m thankful that I had the chance to go to Sundance and that I got the almost three years that I did get to go,” Testerman said. “I sincerely hope that they find a new location, so that way, people can continue dancing up here in Fort Collins.”

Hendrix said efforts are being made to find a new location, but as of closing, no further information was available on the future of the country bar.

Reach Hannah Parcells at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @hannahparcells.