On Thursday, October 8, people stood along Baseline Road filming while crews tore down the Dark Horse building, according to the Daily Camera's photo report. The bar had closed on March 14 after 51 years at 2922 Baseline. Under every photo, the paper repeated the same line: the Dark Horse plans to reopen in Louisville, near U.S. 36 and McCaslin Boulevard.
So the Boulder half of the story is over. The Louisville half barely has a public record yet. If you live in Louisville and want to know when you can get a burger under the old memorabilia, the building at the McCaslin exit won't tell you much. The useful signals will come from City of Louisville records, and so far those records are quiet.
What was promised in April, and what has happened since
The plan went public in mid-April. On April 15, Axios Boulder reported that the bar would reopen in a building near U.S. 36 and McCaslin, with a goal of opening by football season, possibly sooner. The next day, Dark Horse manager Sean James told the Daily Camera that the new spot would be the old Outback Steakhouse building and that the bar would open "ASAP." CBS Colorado gave the address as 988 West Dillon Road and reported, citing James, that management had a lease in hand but hadn't signed it.
Here's how those April markers look as of October 12, 2026:
| April 2026 marker | Source | What we could find as of Oct. 12, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Lease "in hand," not yet signed | CBS Colorado | We found no later public report that it has been signed |
| Open by football season | Axios Boulder, BizWest | The season is underway and the bar hasn't opened |
| Second Roller Auction expected by end of summer, with the bar reopened by then | CBS Colorado | We found no sign that a second auction took place |
| Bar website | darkhorsebar.com | Still reads "We are CLOSED" |
Roller Auction's listing shows that the first Dark Horse sale closed on April 14, 2026. At that auction a vintage hearse went for $6,250, CBS Colorado reported. The bar's own website has said nothing about Louisville since.
The Daily Camera's October captions still describe Louisville as the plan. The April timeline has slipped, though, and nobody has publicly offered a new one.
The record so far
The City of Louisville publishes monthly permitting reports that list issued and finalized permits, and the 2026 page has reports through September. An address search of the May through September reports turned up nothing for 988 West Dillon. Those reports only cover permits that have been issued or finalized, so a pending application wouldn't appear. Still, a major remodel well underway would usually leave some trace there by now.
The second record matters more. Louisville's liquor license guidance says a new license needs approval from the Local Licensing Authority, and it recommends applying at least three months before the planned opening. We found no Dark Horse or 988 West Dillon item in the licensing records available for review. The authority's online meeting archive wasn't fully accessible, though, so we can't rule out an item we didn't see.
That three-month window is the most concrete clue Louisville has. A bar is close to opening once it's in front of the licensing authority, so the timing can be worked out from the city's own guidance. If an application went in this week and followed that recommendation, the planned opening would land around mid-January 2027. That's our own math based on the city's advice, not a date the city or anyone at the Dark Horse has given.
Three things will probably show up before a sign does:
- A Dark Horse or 988 West Dillon Road item on a Local Licensing Authority agenda.
- A permit for that address in one of the city's monthly permitting reports.
- A post on the bar's website or social accounts. In April, the bar's Instagram linked to the Axios story, BizWest noted.
A building that keeps getting new tenants
The Dark Horse wouldn't be the first business in its new building. CBS Colorado notes that 988 West Dillon was an Outback Steakhouse and most recently housed DJ's Watering Hole. Boulder Weekly reported on January 7, 2025, that DJ's had closed, without giving the exact date. That means the last restaurant there had closed more than a year before the Dark Horse news broke.
That record is typical for the McCaslin exit. Over the past couple of years, buildings there have been reused rather than torn down.
The biggest example is the old Sam's Club. Relish held its grand opening there on June 20, 2025, filling the former warehouse with 19 indoor pickleball courts, eight chef-led food concepts, a bar and a café, according to Boulder Reporting Lab. Relish's food hall page currently lists ArepasCO, Salt and Vinegar, Magic Food Bus, Sabor y Salsa, Soupsmith, Shari Bowls, Aces, The Bar and Drop Shot Coffee. The Louisville Chamber's directory also lists Lenin's Pizza as a Relish vendor, but Relish's own page doesn't, so it's worth checking before you go just for a slice.
Across the boulevard, the empty Carrabba's at 575 McCaslin is next. The city's current developments page lists a request to turn it into a Bank of America, with site work that includes a drive-through ATM. The page gives no approval or opening date.
So within a short walk of the U.S. 36 ramps, a warehouse store became a pickleball club, a restaurant is on track to become a bank, and a steakhouse that later became a watering hole is waiting to become the Dark Horse. Each time, the change showed up in city paperwork or an announcement long before the doors opened. The Dark Horse doesn't have that paperwork yet.
Why the move came to McCaslin
The bar didn't leave Boulder by choice. The Williams family owns the Baseline property and plans to replace the Dark Horse and several nearby buildings with hundreds of student-oriented apartments and nearly 60,000 square feet of commercial space, a project called Williams Village II, BizWest reported. Developers had hoped to keep the bar in a bigger space within the project, but that didn't work out. Boulder City Council approved Williams Village II in November 2025, according to the Daily Camera.
What's coming to Louisville is partly the bar's collection. The Daily Camera reported, citing Axios, that the famous bathroom doors, with each hand painted to point toward the other restroom, are supposed to return in Louisville. Asked how much memorabilia would make the trip, James said "as much as we can." In a Facebook post before the closing, quoted by BizWest, management wrote: "While this is not the path we would have chosen for this historic location or our business, we are deeply grateful to have been part of Boulder's culture for more than half a century."
Off McCaslin while you wait
The rest of the strip is busy this fall. Downtown Louisville's calendar lists a History Happy Hour at Relish Food Hall, 550 McCaslin Blvd., Unit B, on Wednesday, October 14, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The Louisville Chamber's October calendar lists the city's Trunk or Treat off McCaslin on Sunday, October 25, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. On Halloween night, the 14th Annual Nightmare on Main Street runs at the Jasmine Bar from 7 p.m. to midnight.
After that, the next big date is the Chamber's Parade of Lights on Friday, December 4, 2026, from 5 to 8 p.m. on Main Street, running from South Street to Parkview. If the Dark Horse follows the city's three-month licensing guidance and hasn't filed yet, the parade will come and go before 988 West Dillon reopens.
At Juli Kovats, we follow McCaslin's empty buildings the same way we'd follow a listing: through permits, agendas and actual timelines, not announcements. If you're curious how the strip's changes might affect your corner of Louisville, start the conversation and schedule your free market consultation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
