FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Looking out on the parking lot of Sundance Steakhouse & Saloon in Fort Collins, a sign reads words of a bittersweet message regarding the business's closure.
After 42 years of serving the community, this local gem is closing its doors for the final time. It is giving customers one last chance to say goodbye from 4 p.m. to midnight on Friday.
"It's amazing that it's had such a long tenure," said Nicole Hendrix, owner of Sundance Steakhouse & Saloon. "But that comes with 42 years of wear and tear, updates, multiple decades of codes, just changes in technology, ways of life. And the building shows that."
The nostalgia and charm inside left a mark on Hendrix, who decided eight years ago to take a chance and run the business. She reflected on her previous experience running nursing homes, which helped give her the confidence to pursue this passion.
"I think everyone has a story about Sundance," said Hendrix. "Most all of them are good, but everyone has a story of Sundance. And being local, when I saw it was for sale, we thought it would be a shame for someone who wasn't quite as local to come in and change it."
The Western feel is immediate when you step foot inside. Not only are customers dressed in cowboy boots and hats, but the walls are lined with relics. A dance floor is front and center.
"I know it sounds cheesy, but it's kind of like that bar that everyone knows your name," said Hendrix. "Just that I love this bar, that anyone can be here, and you can just feel at home and find someone that you can interact with and go out on the dance floor with and just go home feeling like you either made new friends or got to make new memories with old friends."
At 80 years old, Judy Dunn has been a customer since the doors first opened in 1982.
"I used to come very often for the lessons, the country western dancing lessons. But then as I got older, I didn't come as often," Dunn said. "Having a little trouble with my boots, but still wearing them, still dancing a little bit."
Dunn is just one of many longtime customers who have formed a connection with the business and the employees inside. Red Stoskopf started coming in 1996, driving from Loveland so he could have a place to dance.
"I met thousands of people. I have thousands of dances with pretty girls. I enjoyed myself immensely," said Stoskopf. "I'm a Kansas country farm boy, and I never, never ever [began] to think that I would be on a dance floor dancing to my heart's content."
The closure of this longtime country saloon is not only difficult for the customers but also for Hendrix, who said the needs of the building were vital to keep operating and, therefore, could not extend the lease.
"We don't own the building, the structure of the property, and we're just not able to maintain a successful business if we don't have the property that's able to sustain it, as well," said Hendrix.
While this is goodbye to 2716 E. Mulberry Road, the outpour of love and support from the community has been appreciated and felt by Hendrix.
"I don't think these are the final words," said Hendrix. "I think that the community has really shown us that the support's here and we're all willing to work on it together to maintain what you see out there."
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