Fort Collins restaurants: Neighborhood beer bar to close by end of year

Avuncular Bob's Beerhouse will pour its last pint in Fort Collins this month.

The beer bar and restaurant, 830 S. College Ave., plans to close by the end of this year, co-owner Daniel Wilkerson told the Coloradoan Thursday.

Rent and labor costs are partly to blame, as are food costs, which Wilkerson said "skyrocketed" in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Last week, the establishment suffered its final and hardest blow when co-owner K Campbell died of cancer, Wilkerson said.

"COVID and cancer ... all those things created a perfect storm," said Wilkerson, who ran Avuncular Bob's Beerhouse alongside his wife, Lenah Gershman; K; and K's wife, Deb Campbell.

Avuncular Bob's Beerhouse opened in Fort Collins in 2018. A year later, they purchased Wellington fixture the T-Bar Inn, renaming it Avuncular Bob's T-Bar Inn. The Wellington location will remain open and unchanged, according to Wilkerson.

In other Fort Collins restaurant news: RamaMama will close its Laurel Street doors in late December

"The unusual name was a product of K and Deb and their real-life Uncle Bob," Wilkerson said. "They wanted to create a place that reflected his jovial nature and welcoming attitude."

"(When) Lenah and myself were brought in, we thought this town lacked a true neighborhood bar. We truly became that neighborhood pub through the past six years, building beautiful relationships with people who we can now call lifelong friends," he said.

While a closing date has not been set yet, Wilkerson said the beer bar will shutter by the end of this year. In the meantime, they'll continue hosting planned events, including a karaoke night, live music, a Bob Ross paintalong event and a farewell party, according to the bar's Facebook page.

"I really want us to go out on a high note," Wilkerson said. "We’re really proud of the community we’ve built here ... and we’re going to go out with our heads high."

Looking ahead: Here is who's taking over the vacant Village Inn in south Fort Collins

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins neighborhood beer bar Avuncular Bob's Beerhouse to close