'What if that was you?': Boulder LGBTQ bar staff mourn Club Q shooting

Amber Carlson, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.
·3 min read

Dec. 6—For the small but close-knit staff at DV8 Distillery, Boulder's only LGBTQ bar, the Nov. 19 shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs stirred up a mix of difficult emotions. Sadness. Fear. Grief.

But in the wake of the shooting, which killed five people and injured 22 others, DV8 founding co-owner Johnathan Tilley said his employees' biggest concern was not their own safety, but each other's.

"Everyone was kind of having this thought of, 'What if that was you guys? What if I was at home while you guys were being shot at?' It's really interesting to hear how people's caretaker or protector of others comes out so strongly," Tilley said. "Nobody's going, 'What if that was me getting shot?' Everyone's feeling this sadness and, you know, the grief of even potential loss of each other, more so than themselves, I guess."

The employees' concern for each other seems reflective of DV8's company culture, which Tilley described as "familial." He said staff members are close to one another and enjoy a strong bond.

"I'll come in and see them — they're not even on the clock. They're just hanging out with their friends, while their friends are on the clock, waiting for them to get off ... and then they can hang out," Tilley said. "(It's) totally wonderful and beautiful to see."

On Nov. 20, Tilley said he believed staff got together to have drinks and mourn. "That was very much just an emotional venting and hugging, not so much a work meeting and getting the staff together," Tilley said.

And on Nov. 25, the employees held a fundraiser at DV8 and gave 100% of ticket sales plus donations they'd collected and 20% of the bar proceeds to a Colorado Springs GoFundMe page.

But because of the Thanksgiving holiday and a bout of flu that had been making the rounds through the bar's staff, it wasn't until more than a week after the Club Q shooting that the whole staff met to discuss and process what had happened, although Tilley said that meeting was a positive experience.

"It felt really good to come back into our space — you know, remind ourselves why we're here, hug each other, share the experiences we've been having," Tilley said. "It felt pretty positive to come back into the space and be together intentionally."

Some employees asked what could be done to increase safety at DV8, and Tilley said he's exploring the possibility of hiring security and having a metal detector in place for busy nights at the bar. He also plans to increase camera coverage around the facility. But he emphasized that DV8 has no plans to stop running.

"I think that (DV8) can shine on indefinitely, as long as it can keep good people in its sphere, which it seems to be able to draw," Tilley said.

Anyone seeking grief counseling or other support during this time is encouraged to contact Queer Asterisk, a Boulder nonprofit that is offering free group counseling around the Club Q event. Queer Asterisk can be reached at 720-507-6161.