Fort Collins bar named top U.S. speakeasy

It's been nearly 90 years since Prohibition ended, but that didn't stop an underground Fort Collins bar from being crowned the country's best speakeasy by Yelp.

Social, which opened almost a decade ago in Old Town Square, landed the top spot on the online review site's Sept. 19 list of the 50 best speakeasy bars.

The list was data-driven, according to Yelp, with the website identifying and then ranking speakeasy bars based on the total volume and ratings of their Yelp reviews. When records were available, Yelp also made sure the listed bars had a passing health score as of Sept. 1, according to a Yelp spokesperson.

"We were ecstatic," Social's general and bar manager Nathan Robertson said Thursday, noting that he and other Social staff found about the list in late October. "The ranking is based on reviews we've received since opening (in 2013), so the current staff is obviously very proud, but we wouldn't have had this ranking without every single employee who's worked here."

"To not be inside a big metropolitan city and still get recognized is rare," Social owner Ty Fulcher added.

Of the other two Colorado bars mentioned on the list — Williams & Graham in Denver (No. 31) and Brooklyn's on Boulder Street in Colorado Springs (No. 33) — both are in the state's two most populous cities.

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Fulcher credited Social's focus on knowledge, passion and hospitality for its many positive Yelp reviews and overall five-star rating on the site.

"We make sure we're exceeding expectations," he added. "Our goal is to make people walk out in a better mood."

In between celebrating their top placement on the list, Social ― like 26 other Old Town eateries and watering holes ― is focusing on being part of Bon Appetit Week, a downtown restaurant promotion that started Friday and runs through Nov. 20.

Appropriately, Social is also preparing for its annual Dec. 5 Repeal Day party, which celebrates the day in 1933 when the national prohibition on alcohol was lifted.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Yelp names Fort Collins, Colorado, bar top U.S. speakeasy