Denver’s original 1Up Arcade Bar closes after 15 years

Insert coin to continue? Sadly, that’s not an option this time. The original 1Up Arcade Bar at 1925 Blake St. in LoDo has officially closed after 15 years, ending a run that helped pioneer the arcade bar concept in Colorado and briefly turned Denver into the competitive Donkey Kong capital of the world.

The bar opened on March 23, 2011, at a time when the idea of combining a full-service bar with rows of classic arcade games and pinball machines was virtually unheard of in the state. It became Colorado’s first arcade bar, and over the next decade and a half, it hosted birthdays, first dates, league nights, pinball tournaments — and two editions of the internationally recognized Kong Off, a Donkey Kong world championship that brought players including world record holder Hank Chien, King of Kong subject Steve Wiebe and competitive gaming icon Billy Mitchell to LoDo. The Kong Off 2 was held in November 2012 and the Kong Off 3 followed in November 2013, both at the Blake Street location.

“What we built together on Blake Street will never be forgotten,” the bar said in a social media post announcing the closure. The post credited a combination of “changing conditions in downtown Denver and the increasing financial pressures facing the hospitality industry” for the decision — a familiar refrain for LoDo businesses navigating a post-pandemic downtown that hasn’t fully bounced back.

The 1Up isn’t disappearing. Its Colfax, Greenwood Village and Westminster locations remain open. And this fall, the brand will open what it’s calling its largest location yet — more than 13,000 square feet in the former Lucky Strike space at the Belmar Shopping District in Lakewood. The new spot will feature the company’s biggest collection of arcade games, pinball machines and redemption games to date, and aims to preserve the underground atmosphere that made the original LoDo bar a Denver institution.