Game over for one of LoDo's most recognizable underground hangouts. The original 1UP Arcade Bar on Blake Street in Denver's Lower Downtown quietly went dark on Monday, June 22, putting a cap on a 15-year run in the shadow of Coors Field. The basement spot had long been a magnet for retro arcade fans, pinball diehards, and late-night crowds. In the same announcement, the company revealed it is leveling up with a much larger outpost in Lakewood's Belmar shopping district.
As reported by The Denver Gazette, 1UP cited "changing conditions" in downtown Denver, along with growing pressures on the hospitality industry, as key reasons for walking away from the Blake Street space. The Gazette noted that the company used its closure post to thank customers and to describe the original LoDo bar as a passion project that evolved into something much larger.
1UP's LoDo location first opened its doors in March 2011 at 1925 Blake Street, according to an early profile in Westword. The brand now lists active locations in Colfax, Westminster, and Greenwood Village on its website, and the company says those spots will stay open as it pulls back from the downtown core.
Lakewood Expansion Set To Be Biggest 1UP Yet
The same announcement outlined plans for a roughly 13,000-square-foot location in Lakewood's Belmar Shopping District, which would be the largest 1UP site so far, according to The Denver Gazette. The move to a larger suburban footprint aligns with a broader shift among entertainment operators who are seeking more space and different cost structures outside the urban center.
Downtown Shifts And Industry Headwinds
The pivot away from LoDo comes as downtown Denver posts a mixed recovery. The Downtown Denver Partnership's March 2026 High Frequency Update points to stronger return-to-office patterns and event-driven spikes, yet it also notes that overall pedestrian activity still has not climbed back to 2019 levels. Separate commercial real estate research from CBRE has highlighted uneven vacancy and leasing trends in the LoDo micromarket, a dynamic that can put pressure on hospitality businesses that depend heavily on office workers and game-day crowds.
Local Reaction
News of the closure traveled quickly on neighborhood message boards and Reddit threads, where longtime customers swapped memories and mourned the loss of a familiar nightlife fixture. One local Reddit discussion tracking the shutdown collected posts from patrons recalling packed Friday nights and early pinball tournaments, underscoring how the Blake Street bar had helped anchor pieces of LoDo's social scene.
Where To Play Next
Fans of 1UP's cabinets and pinball tables are not completely out of luck. The company says its Colfax, Greenwood Village, and Westminster locations remain open, and it plans to share timing and additional details for the Belmar debut on its official channels. The Blake Street closure marks another turn in LoDo's ongoing evolution as bar and restaurant operators juggle rents, changing foot traffic, and shifting customer patterns across the Denver area.
