Icons downtown bar closed due to smoke damage

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Due to smoke damage from a fire on Monday on Bijou Street, Icons is closed for business for the time being. Because the building is linked to the one where the fire started, the smoke permeated the inside of the bar and caused damage to everything inside.

Josh Franklin and John Wolf opened the bar in 2020 to create a space for the Queer community.

"To be ripped of the only remaining space in town is pretty devastating," Josh Franklin, co-owner of Icons said. "We were getting messages just this morning. We were at coffee with someone who recognized us and said,  'I was planning on spending my holidays and it's like, what am I supposed to do?'"

While the temporary closure of this bar does impact the community, even more so, it impacts the staff that run it. The bar closing means a total loss of revenue for the owners and a loss of hours for their employees.

The staff is comprised entirely of professional singers who rely on tips to pay their bills.

"It's how they live their life, and to lose that during the holidays is pretty devastating," John Wolf, co-owner of Icons said.

That's why they've set up a Venmo account for their employees. Anyone who wants to support them can Venmo them at @icons-co.

"This is not something that we were prepared for in any way or have gone through before us. So we're learning as we go," Franklin said.

In the meantime, the owners are not sure when the bar will re-open, as they sort through the insurance paperwork with their landlord. They also will need to replace everything inside the bar as it has been completely damaged by the toxic smoke.

"We will be back up and running. Yeah. This is not lights out forever. It's lights out for now," Franklin said.