The Irish Embassy Pub will close its doors at the end of the day Labor Day because of slow sales since it reopened in May after a two-month closure caused by COVID-19 restrictions.
“After 12 years, we’re really sad to see it come to this, but we’ve been struggling since reopening in May and haven’t been able to get ahead,” said manager Sarah Donaldson in a news release.
The pub will open at 11 a.m. daily through Monday, Labor Day, with a few house bands scheduled to play during the weekend.
Sean McCarthy, a musician who plays the bodhrán, an Irish drum, had set up a Save the Irish Embassy Pub Facebook Page seeking to raise $50,000 to save the establishment, which opened in downtown Durango in 2012.
As of Tuesday, about $10,000 had been raised.
Donaldson said, “We’re hoping that we’ll be able to reopen somewhere else in a different capacity, once things start to become a little more normal. We’ve kept going as long as we were able, and we feel that it’s time we say goodbye – for now.”
She said the pub has hosted a wedding, birthdays, holiday parties and business meetings.
The pub was a gathering place for Guinness Games during Snowdown, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and Sunday music sessions.
The pub also was a center for the Durango Celtic Festival, hosted events for the Durango Independent Film Festival, handed out medals for the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic and served meals to the Durango Youth Soccer Association.
parmijo@durangoherald.com