Rep. Lauren Boebert closes Shooters Grill restaurant after landlord refuses to renew lease

Rep. Lauren Boebert’s open carry-friendly restaurant, Shooters Grill, which is located in Rifle, Colorado, officially shut its doors on Sunday.

Boebert said the closure was due to its lease expiring, which her landlord would not renew. Boebert is considering a new venue “like a Shooters coffee shop with pastries.” The closure was first reported by The Glenwood Springs Post Independent.

Boebert, a prominent Republican and a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, said the news shocked her and her husband, who have owned the establishment since 2013. “There wasn’t really much wiggle room or anywhere to compromise unless we bought the building ourselves,” Boebert told the outlet. “It’s been an amazing journey. I don’t regret anything. It’s always sad to close a chapter. But this is where we’re at.”

“I would say Shooters, for any employee, was their life. We lived and breathed it every single day. They were a part of this culture and brand that we created in Rifle, and there was a lot of pride with that,” Boebert said.

Shooters Grill served about 100 tables a day and employed around 75 people, according to the Washington Times. The restaurant was well known for encouraging servers and customers to openly carry firearms, including semiautomatic weapons. Boebert has promoted her restaurant as a symbol for the Second Amendment.

“We’ve become a voice for the Second Amendment, and it’s a voice I’m proud to have,” Boebert told The Denver Post. “There are so many voices darkening the Second Amendment, and I’m proud to be a part of those standing and taking their place and saying, ‘No, we rightfully own our firearms, and we’re responsible with them,’” Boebert said after then-presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke proposed confiscating guns like AR-15.